Monday, August 9, 2021

Mr. Frosty the Gecko May Help us Understand Skin Cancer Better



        Mr. Frosty the gecko belongs to the variety of leopard geckos named Lemon Frost geckos. These geckos tend to develop skin cancer, and this may be due to a single gene that us humans also have in instances of melanoma. Therefore, these Lemon Frost geckos may be able to be used to find better treatments in skin cancer for humans. A specific region of the geckos genome has been identified for the skin cancer seen, and further research may link to humans or other animals. The mutated gene found was SPINT1, which has also been seen in tumors on humans, mice, and fish. 
        The fact that geckos, such as Mr. Frosty, have similar genes involving skin cancer to ours is unbelievable. Further research with the Lemon Frosted geckos will hopefully one day help us to treat and cure skin cancer, even the most dangerous melanoma cases. 

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/lemon-frost-gecko-skin-cancer-tumors-genetics

similar article, but different kind of cancer:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3484523/

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