The same chemical reaction that causes iron to rust plays a similarly corrosive role in our bodies.
Oxidative stress chips away at healthy cells and is a process, scientists know, that contributes to a host of diseases and conditions in humans ranging from Alzheimer’s, heart disease and stroke to cancer and the inexorable process of aging.
A team of UW-Madison scientists has discovered a gene expression pathway that exerts a sweeping influence over this process of oxidative stress, which one day could allow for the manipulation of genes or development of new drugs to thwart disease.