Huntington’s protein may be kidnapper

Huntington’s disease, a neurodegenerative disorder affecting 250,000 Americans, is

a case of biochemical woe. Tangles of protein collect in brain cells. The tissue

dies, leaving gaping holes in people’s brains. But the protein–dubbed

huntingtin–doesn’t kill cells directly. Instead, it kidnaps another protein

essential for cell survival, researchers report in the March 23 Science.