P53 ─ The Gene That Cracked the Cancer Code

All of us have lurking in our DNA a most remarkable gene. Its job is straightforward – to protect us from cancer. This gene – known simply as p53 – constantly scans our cells to ensure that they grow and divide without mishap, as part of the routine maintenance of our bodies. If a cell makes a mistake in copying its DNA as part of its process of division, p53 stops it in its tracks, sending in the repair team before allowing the cell to carry on dividing. If the mistake is irreparable and the rogue cell threatens to grow out of control (as happens in cancer), p53 commands the cell to commit suicide. Cancer cannot develop unless p53 itself is damaged and malfunctioning. Not surprisingly, p53 is the most studied gene in history.

Sue Armstrong's p53: The Gene That Cracked the Cancer Code is the story of the quest to unravel the mysteries of p53 and to get at the heart of what happens in our cells when they turn cancerous. Discovered in 1979, most notably by David Lane at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London and Arnie Levine at Princeton University, p53 has teased the minds of some of the most colorful and ambitious scientists around the world. As the twenty-first century revolution in personalized cancer treatments finally has started to take off, p53 is at the forefront of the hunt for new cures. This is a timely tale of scientific discovery and advances in our understanding of a disease that still affects more than one in three of us at some point in our lives.

Sue Armstrong is a science writer and foreign correspondent who has worked for a variety of media organizations, including New Scientist and BBC World Service. Since the 1980s, she has undertaken regular assignments for the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS, writing about women's health issues and the AIDS pandemic, among many other topics. The author of A Matter of Life and Death: Inside the Hidden World of the Pathologist, Armstrong lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.