{
  "id": 3596281,
  "title": "Hidden switch in cell division may point to new cancer treatments",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/hidden-switch-in-cell-division-may-point-to-new-cancer-treatments",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-26T21:20:05.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-08-hidden-cell-division-cancer-treatments.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "When cells prepare to divide, they swiftly halt almost all gene reading, or transcription, as they focus on cell division. A new study led by Alarcón and Kabeche, researchers at Yale School of Medicine, has discovered a crucial enzyme called METTL3 that plays a pivotal role in this process. METTL3 modifies RNA by attaching a small chemical tag, affecting the fate of mRNA molecules and regulating their production. The study reveals that METTL3 is wired into the cell division machinery and activated by CDK1, a protein complex that triggers transcription and clears mRNA molecules from chromosomes. This mechanism ensures proper condensation and segregation of chromosomes during mitosis, preventing aneuploidy, a hallmark of cancer. Inhibiting METTL3 activation or 7SK modification can lead to lagging chromosomes and chromosomal instability, contributing to cancer development.",
  "summary": "When a cell gets ready to divide, it shuts down its gene-reading machinery almost entirely. For decades, the mechanism behind that shutdown was only partially understood. A new study co-led by Alarcón and Lilian Kabeche, associate professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale School of Medicine, identifies a missing piece: an enzyme best known for tagging RNA molecules that turns out…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}