New way to potentially slow cancer growth

Fighting cancer effectively often involves stopping cancer cells from multiplying, which requires understanding proteins that the cells rely on to survive. Protein profiling plays a critical role in this process by helping researchers identify proteins -- and their specific parts -- that future drugs should target. But when used on their own, past approaches haven't been detailed enough to spotlight all potential protein targets, leading to some being missed. Now, by combining two methods of protein analysis, a team of chemists has mapped more than 300 small molecule-reactive cancer proteins, as well as their small molecule binding sites.