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The protein TRPA1 feels the pain of alkaline pH Many biological conditions cause a rise in the pH of the environment in which cells in our body exist (i.e., the environment becomes alkaline). Some of these conditions, e.g., respiratory alkalosis due to hyperventilation and the high blood pH caused by urinary tract infection, cause pain sensation, but the mechanisms by which sensory nerve cells detect alkaline pH are not well defined.

Using a new approach that combines scientific technologies to hunt down genetic changes involved in cancer, researchers have discovered 13 tumor suppressor genes that, when mutated, can lead to liver cancers. Twelve of those genes had never been linked to cancer before, according to the report published online in the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, on November 13th.