EDITOR'S BLOG
Sharks
And finally, leaving the typical farm behind, we get to sharks. Similarly to camelids, cartilaginous fish such as sharks also have heavy-chain antibodies and are of great interest to scientists.
Biologists from the University of Aberdeen were awarded a grant of over £200,000 ($340,000) last September to analyse if the antibody IgNAR, found uniquely in sharks, can be used to inhibit the growth of cancer cells.
Dr Helen Dooley who is leading the study said: “This is only the first step in a very long process but if our hypothesis holds true we hope to develop new anti-cancer drugs based upon these unique shark antibodies.”
