“They established the basis for our understanding of how oxygen levels affect cellular metabolism and physiological function,” the jury said. Semenza studied a gene known as EPO which causes the body to create more red blood cells and isolated the specific DNA segments that help it to adapt to low oxygen levels. Radcliffe and Semenza then applied this knowledge to show that the oxygen sensing mechanism was present in virtually all human tissues. The gene rewires the body’s ability to prevent the onset of cancer, and it plays a key role in how cancer cells respond to low oxygen levels. Cancerous tumours use the body’s oxygen-regulating tools to hijack blood vessel formation and allow the cancer cells to spread.

Source: Ethiopian News October 07, 2019 16:07 UTC