Branching out: Tomato genes point to new medicines
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 10-Jul-2025 03:11 ET (10-Jul-2025 07:11 GMT/UTC)
CSHL’s Lippman and McCandlish labs have discovered how interactions between cryptic genetic mutations can increase or decrease the number of reproductive branches on tomato plants. The scientists’ findings could lead to new and improved plant breeding techniques and clinical therapeutics.
The value of a recent biochemical discovery can be seen in the case of an 8-year-old boy, who was playing typical sports in August 2023, but by November needed a wheelchair because of a rare disease that caused worsening paralysis. As part of a new study, neurologists at NYU Langone Health treated the boy with an experimental compound that partially reversed his rapid decline. Two months after beginning treatment, he was able to walk long distances again and even run.