Mother's Day gift for cancer research team

A BREAST cancer research project in the city has received a £25,000 grant to coincide with Mother's Day.

The Edinburgh University unit said the donation would have a significant impact on its latest research schemes.

Hallmark's Cards for a Cure initiative invested the cash, which will initially go into defining the role of the Numb protein and the role it has in breast cancer development.

Dr Maura Wallace, who heads up the unit, said:

"Proteins, such as Mdm2, LNK and Siah-1, can play a large part in the development of breast cancer by physically binding themselves on to the protein Numb and preventing it from its actions.

"This project will look to develop ways to restore Numb and ultimately discover an entirely new way of treating breast cancer.

"Understanding the role of the molecule is vital in helping us know more about how breast cancer develops."