Checking bad behaviour

PREVENTION, rather than cure could
become the norm in the West if modern
biotechnology has its way. Several big
multinational drug firms such as
Hoechst, Merck and Glaxo Wellcome
are trying their best to manufacture
drugs that keep cells from malfunctioning. This is done by blocking the signal
that causes these cells to function
errantly. The technology, called signal
transcluction blocking, could prove
invaluable for a host of ailments ranging
from allergies, rheumatoid arthritis,
osteoporosis to transplanted organ
rejection. The biggest challenge is to
design drugs that interfere with the
process that makes proteins and hormones change shapes and bind, signalling a cell to act without blocking signals for needed activity by other cells.