The fight against cancer and the search for a cure is an ongoing and uphill battle. Learning about how cancer cells grow and divide, as well as cell structure and organization, has proved to be of much importance in cancer research. In recent days, the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota has made a discovery about a protein known as Dynamin-2. This breakthrough has raised questions about conventional knowledge on the subject of cancer cell growth and may lead to new strategies for stopping the growth of cancerous cells.
             Unlike normal cells, cancer cells do not stop reproducing; cancer, in essence, is cell division out of control. A cancer cell may be more resistant to self-destruction than normal cells, or they may self destruct slower than they reproduce. Consequently, a tumor is ultimately formed that is made up of billions of copies of the original cancerous cell. Secreted proteins are released from one cell to transmit a signal to another cell instructing a particular behavior such as cell growth, migration or survival. Normal cells need two signals in order to replicate and divide: a growth factor protein and an indication that the cells are attached to the correct surface. Loss of control over the attachment signal may allow cancer cells to grow even when they are not in the correct part of the body.
             The Mayo team discovered the dynamins, not on the membrane as expected, but on the centrosome that has no membrane. This was the last place they expected to find these proteins, as it was highly unlikely, but the surprise offers a new lead in the fight against cancer. The centrosome is a tiny cellular organ that helps organize chromosomes during cell division. It's also a signaling center for the cell and as such is implicated in the expected programmed cell death known as apoptosis. The centrosome is also important in setting up the two poles of the cell during mitosis which is when cells segregate their chromo
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