Are there evolutionary causes behind the rates of cancer in this country?
Research Question:
Are there evolutionary causes behind the rates of cancer in this country?
Results of Research:
There are findings that support a notion that evolutionary changes have contributed to the many instances of cancer in America. According to Jarle Breivik from the University of Oslo in Norway, there are select mutations in the human genome that encourage cells to rapidly divide that also encourages genetic mutations. Usually, the immune system kills these mutated cells, but given how rapidly these cells divide, it is inevitable that the cells become cancerous as people continue to live longer. Jarle's research focused mainly on the cells of the upper intestine, as that is a common area for the creation of tumors and other signs of cancer in older people. Anil Jegga, a researcher at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, further concludes that there are seven mutations present in most Europeans in the p53 regulatory network of the human genome that encourages these changes; the p53 network normally regulates the cell's division genes so that they won't become cancerous. They have further demonstrated these results through rodent testing, in which they were able to replicate the entire p53 network and then modify it: the results of the studies were that the p53 regulatory network does not prevent the creation cancerous cells. Dr. Dan Mishmar, a researcher at BGU, performed a study that links the mitochondria of cells to the cancerous mutations. He argues that when mitochondria are passed from mother to offspring, there are certain changes that came from genetic mutations that were adapted to environmental conditions that resulted in cells living shorter lifespans and dividing more rapidly. The conclusion that scientists have drawn is that there is an evolutionary link between the makeup and behavior of cells that encourages cancer.
http://www.discoverymedicine.com/Daniel-Menendez/2010/07/28/potentiating-the-p53-network/
http://www.news-medical.net/news/2007/04/17/23697.aspx
http://www.physorg.com/news165754102.html
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/8/74
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-01/cchm-eoh011608.php
http://www.bioinfo.de/isb/2007/08/0004/main.html
http://xenophilius.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/link-between-cancer-and-human-evolution-revealed/
Are there evolutionary causes behind the rates of cancer in this country?
Results of Research:
There are findings that support a notion that evolutionary changes have contributed to the many instances of cancer in America. According to Jarle Breivik from the University of Oslo in Norway, there are select mutations in the human genome that encourage cells to rapidly divide that also encourages genetic mutations. Usually, the immune system kills these mutated cells, but given how rapidly these cells divide, it is inevitable that the cells become cancerous as people continue to live longer. Jarle's research focused mainly on the cells of the upper intestine, as that is a common area for the creation of tumors and other signs of cancer in older people. Anil Jegga, a researcher at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, further concludes that there are seven mutations present in most Europeans in the p53 regulatory network of the human genome that encourages these changes; the p53 network normally regulates the cell's division genes so that they won't become cancerous. They have further demonstrated these results through rodent testing, in which they were able to replicate the entire p53 network and then modify it: the results of the studies were that the p53 regulatory network does not prevent the creation cancerous cells. Dr. Dan Mishmar, a researcher at BGU, performed a study that links the mitochondria of cells to the cancerous mutations. He argues that when mitochondria are passed from mother to offspring, there are certain changes that came from genetic mutations that were adapted to environmental conditions that resulted in cells living shorter lifespans and dividing more rapidly. The conclusion that scientists have drawn is that there is an evolutionary link between the makeup and behavior of cells that encourages cancer.
http://www.discoverymedicine.com/Daniel-Menendez/2010/07/28/potentiating-the-p53-network/
http://www.news-medical.net/news/2007/04/17/23697.aspx
http://www.physorg.com/news165754102.html
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/8/74
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-01/cchm-eoh011608.php
http://www.bioinfo.de/isb/2007/08/0004/main.html
http://xenophilius.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/link-between-cancer-and-human-evolution-revealed/
