Elephants have a cancer-mortality rate of about 5%, compared to 11-25% in humans
because people have them too. But whales may also harbour tumour-fighting genes unknown to science. The next step is therefore to irradiate laboratory-grown lines of whale cells, in order to encourage cancer-causing mutations and thus find out which genes become active in an attempt to clamp down on those mutations. The eventual goal is to discover which strategies whale genes use to combat cancer.
Similar studies are already being done using cancer-fighting proteins from another group of giants—elephants. These have a cancer-mortality rate of about 5%, compared with 11-25% in human populations. Some participants in the whale study were previously involved in sequencing African and Asian elephant genomes. They found that an important weapon in the elephants’ arsenal is, a gene that encodes an apoptosis-inducing protein called p53.
Dr Tollis, Dr Maley and their colleagues will also search for tumour-suppressing genes in previously sequenced genomes available in public databases. These include about 65 species of mammal—some of which, such as naked mole rats, are noted for low cancer rates even though they are small compared with elephants and whales, and so do not seem to conform to Peto’s paradox. The search will also look at non-mammalian exceptions to the paradox, such as crocodiles and birds.
One novel aspect of all this research is its willingness to take the animals under study on their own terms. Medical science uses animals a lot—but almost always they are there to act as stand-ins for human beings, a role encapsulated in the word “model” that is often applied to such laboratory organisms. Comparative oncology explicitly rejects this idea.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
24 Tiny Things That Will Infuriate You In A Big WayPeople Are Sharing Small Things That Piss Them Off More Than Normal And Holy Heck, Y'all
Read more »
Katharine McPhee's Secrets to Being a Calm Bride Include...Katharine McPhee preps for her wedding day with a face mask and “maybe a little Xanax”
Read more »
Miranda Lambert Shows Her Husband a Little Love in the Big AppleNYPD(ang these two are really adorable)
Read more »