Auckland scientist discovers breakthrough in cancer treatment

Study of the humble cooking ingredient baker's yeast by an Auckland scientist has lead to a breakthrough which can lead to new treatment for diseases from cancer to dementia and obesity research into yeast by Massey University scientist Dr Evelyn Sattlegger has paved the way to understanding how a exacting protein found in all living organisms affects memory, immunity and diseases.

Based in the Institute of Natural Sciences at Massey University's Albany campus, Sattlegger has work with colleagues in the United States and Brazil to split the protein code it is a complex story of biological chemistry - but in summary Sattlegger studied the protein Gcn2 which is occupied in a number of diseases.

She found another protein - given the scientific name eEF1A - plays an significant role in cells keeping Gcn2 in ensure she says it show there are finely-tuned chemical interactions within cells that eventually underpin our health.