The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn (UWM) is launching a new research project to develop a medicine for breast cancer.

Dr Małgorzata Chmielewska-Krzesińska from the Chair of Pathophysiology, Veterinary Medicine and Administration of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine UWM begins research on the role of thymoquinone in the fight against cancer. As a model she chose a zebrafish, a small freshwater fish from the carp family, popular in aquarium cultures. Scientists have been using zebrafish for over a dozen years, and the Laboratory of Genomics and Transcriptomics at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine as the first in Poland began research work with this fish.

Dr Chmielewska-Krzesińska wants to check how thymoquinone will effect on cancer cells. Scientists know that a substance can cause cancer cells to die, but have not yet discovered how this happens.