Quirky Fruit Fly Gene Could Point Way to New Cancer Drugs, Loyola University Study

Loyola researchers are taking advantage of a quirk in the evolution of fruit fly genes to help develop new weapons against cancer. A newly discovered fruit fly gene is a simplified counterpart of two complex human genes that play important roles in the development of cancer and some birth defects. As this fruit fly gene evolved, it split in two. This split has made it easier to study, and the resulting insights could prove useful in developing new cancer drugs.