Scientists have discovered two genes that appear responsible for one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer. Glioblastoma multiforme rapidly invades the normal brain, producing inoperable tumours, but scientists have not understood why it is so aggressive. The latest study, by a Columbia University team, published in Nature, pinpoints two genes. The researchers say that the findings raise hopes of developing a treatment for the cancer. The genes – C/EPB and Stat3 – are active in about 60 percent of glioblastoma patients. They appear to work in tandem to turn on many other genes that make brain cells cancerous. Lead researcher Dr Antonio Iavarone described the two genes as the disease's master control knobs. The Columbia team is now attempting to develop drugs they hope will achieve the same effect. Using state-of-the-art techniques, they effectively mapped out the comprehensive and highly complex network of molecular interactions driving the behaviour of glioblastoma cells.<br/>