THE WORLD THIS WEEK

Tunes from old toys

LONDON: Musicians have got together to make tunes from old electronic kids’ toys. It’s called circuit bending and tunes are created when the circuit board in the toy is re-wired to make a different sound. Experts warn that circuit bending comes with safety rule — no try at home.

Genetic link to liver cancer

ILLINOIS, Chicago: A gene that causes liver cancer in mice has been identified at the University of Illinois at Chicago. When the researchers deleted the gene, called Foxm1b, from liver cells in lab mice, the animals didn’t develop tumours. The mice with the deleted gene remained cancer-free even when the researchers tried to use artificial means to induce tumours. Reseachers have created a prototype for a drug to block Foxm1b activity and starve tumour cells of the protein manufactured by Foxm1b.