Cancer-fighting roles Scientists have discovered a new
role in cancer protection for an already well-known tumor suppressor
protein. The protein, called p53, protects cells from becoming
cancerous by sensing stress and either shutting down cell division or
triggering cell death. Researchers at the University of Tokyo and
colleagues have discovered that p53 also plays a role in slicing
stretches of RNA into regulatory molecules called microRNAs (SN: 8/15/09, p.
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