Thalidomide’s Birth-Defect-Causing Mechanism Finally Uncovered

Thalidomide’s harms, though well documented, have never been completely understood at the molecular level. Now, more than 60 years after thalidomide caused birth defects in thousands of children whose mothers took the drug while pregnant, scientists based at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have finally solved the molecular mystery. According to these scientists, thalidomide acts by promoting the degradation of a transcription factor called SALL4.Actually, thalidomide causes the degradatio