Discovery in Plants Suggests Entirely New Approach to Treating Human Cancers, Study by University of Washington, Indiana University, and University of Cambridge

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- For the first time, scientists from the University of Washington School of Medicine, Indiana University Bloomington and the University of Cambridge have determined how a plant hormone -- auxin -- interacts with its hormone receptor, called TIR1. Their report, on the cover of this week’s issue of Nature, also may have important implications for the treatment of human disease, because TIR1 is similar to human enzymes that are known to be involved in cancer.