For better therapies

Fighting breast cancer: the role of proteins

The research work of Graz-based scientists Lena Bauernhofer (left) and Ariane Pessentheiner could make truly suitable, individualized therapy possible in the future.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com/Pessentheiner/Carolyn Vargas/Tzvianopoulos)

They are so small that they cannot be seen with the naked eye: Proteins. However, their role in our body is huge - and not always positive. For example, they are involved in the development of breast cancer. As part of the ÖAW project "FÄKT!", molecular biologists Lena Bauernhofer and Ariane Pessentheiner from the University of Graz explain how their work helps in the fight against cancer.

In a nutshell, proteins are involved in all vital processes in our body: "They are important functional building blocks of life and take on central tasks in our cells," explain molecular biologists Lena Bauernhofer and Ariane Pessentheiner. And as proteins "take on many important control functions in the body, they are also often involved in the development of cancer".