 |
 |
Healthy vs Cancer Cells
Name: Alyssa
Status: student
Grade: 6-8
Location: IL
Country: USA
Date: N/A
Question:
I have a question, I was thinking, if somebody had
cancer could we cure it by multiplying healthy cells? I was
reading something in my science book and they were experimenting
on frogs. They some how multiplied the frogs cells, so if a
person had cancer could they do the same thing with their
healthy cells?
Replies:
Alyssa,
That is a very good question! In some sense, the short answer to
your question is, "yes".
Recent research on the study of cancer has yielded a wealth of
information. It has been said that "we've learned so much in the
last 18 months, than we have in the past 25 years."
First you must consider the different types of cancer, and there are two
scenarios I could use to explain how your thoughts would apply. The first
is a cancer that is a tumor cell, and the second is a cancer that is a mutation
of the DNA or genes of a living cell.
There has been some research that hasn't been approved yet, where we can
increase the strengths of our immune system, to generate more T-Cells or
"protector" cells to help fight of or "kill" tumor cells. It's somewhat
similar to receiving immunization shots to help fight against new diseases
or the flu.
The other scenario is a cancer where your DNA or genes become mutated.
Early detection of the mutation can help identify if a person has cancer,
but further research could help us understand why the mutations occur, and
someday we may be able to identify how we can limit the mutation (extend the
life of a cell), or stop the mutation (and allow the growth of a healthy cell),
or determine how both, the mutation and the living cell, can co-exist.
Hope that helps.
-Alex Viray
Click here to return to the Molecular Biology Archives
| |
Update: June 2012
|
|
