For years, frogs have helped humans make key scientific advancements to improve the quality of life for us all.  They have helped with HIV research, pregancy research, and now, cancer research.  Scientists studying South African Clawed Frog (Xenopus Laevis) tadpoles – not to be confused with the African Dwarf Frog – have discovered a compound which prohibits the movement of pigment cells as the frog grows into an adult.

As a result of these pigments being blocked, the adult frog does not grow up with its usual greenish-brown color.  It is the uncontrolled movement of these pigment cells in both humans and frogs that causes a form of skin cancer.  According to the study, understanding how to block these cells could lead researchers to better understand how to prevent tumors from developing and spreading.

ScienceDaily points out that the Xenopus Laevis and humans are not that different.

The species Xenopus Laevis (South African clawed frog) is more closely related to humans than one might expect. It only diverged from man 360 million years ago and has the same organs, molecules and physiology. This means that the same mechanisms are involved in causing cancer in both Xenopus tadpoles and humans.

The study was led by Dr Grant Wheeler of the University of East Anglia.

Photo by kuribo.

Skin Color Studies On Tadpoles Lead To Cancer Advance (ScienceDaily)