Ontogeny other research news

University researchers reported in Science that they have discovered a potential gene for basal cell carcinoma. The mutated gene appeared both in inherited mutations in patients with Basal Cell Nevus Syndrome, and a somatic mutation in a case of basal cell carcinoma.

Most basal cell carcinomas arise on sun-exposed skin, usually after middle age. The syndrome, by contrast, appears early in life and is inherited. The gene appears to be a human homolog to the ptc gene of fruit flies, which controls cell fates in developing embryos. ...