Re:The curious DNA circles that make treating cancer so hard
by jcims on Saturday October 02, 2021 @06:55PM
(#28732847)
Would be interesting to see if the mechanisms underlying cancer's genetic agility could ultimately be put to use to search for solutions to other problems.
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Re:The curious DNA circles that make treating cancer so hard
by panabee on Saturday October 02, 2021 @07:20PM
(#28733027)
exactly. cancer is a scourge that must be eradicated, but on the way, we may discover the solution to other health issues.
Re:The curious DNA circles that make treating cancer so hard
by clipjokingly on Saturday October 02, 2021 @07:39PM
(#28733186)
Are cancer cells immortal? It would be very poetic that the key to cancer would also unlock amortality.
Re:The curious DNA circles that make treating cancer so hard
by akiselev on Saturday October 02, 2021 @07:56PM
(#28733280)
They're immortal in the sense that they no longer listen to tumor suppression genes that trigger apoptosis (programmed cell death). Based on our current understanding of senescence, that doesn't really help with the main causes of aging.
Re:The curious DNA circles that make treating cancer so hard
by tg180 on Saturday October 02, 2021 @07:59PM
(#28733293)
Why?
The presence of telomerase prevents telomere shortening in cancer cells and gives the ability to divide an unlimited number of times in a laboratory cell culture plate.
But the aging process is not reversed, so a multicellular complex organism would eventually die.
Re:The curious DNA circles that make treating cancer so hard
by emmelaich on Saturday October 02, 2021 @08:00PM
(#28733300)
The cells of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrietta_Lacks are immortal.