Drs. Dorothy Tuan and Wenhu Pi, Medical College of Georgia (1 of 2) (IMAGE)

Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University

Drs. Dorothy Tuan and Wenhu Pi, Medical College of Georgia (1 of 2)

Caption

A retired but well-preserved mechanism for regulating viruses that has worked its way into the human genome appears to modulate a switch between adult and fetal hemoglobin production, Medical College of Georgia researchers report. That switch could be the key to more targeted therapies for sickle cell patients whose misshaped adult hemoglobin hinders its ability to deliver oxygen throughout the body. Fetal hemoglobin, on the other hand, can't take on the dysfunctional sickle shape

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Phil Jones, Campus Photographer

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