Mirror Daily

Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Log in
  • Home
  • National & Global News
  • Business & Economy
  • Tech & Science
  • Health
  • About Mirror Daily
    • Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • Latest News
    • The Geological Features of Pluto Have Just Gotten Dark Names Inspired from the Underworld
    • The Abuse of Imodium
    • McDonald’s Salads are worse than their Burgers
    • US Family Sues Hospital Over Botched Tonsillectomy
    • Should We Go Back to The Moon?
    • Photo of Gay Military Men Kissing Goes Viral

Pages

  • About Mirror Daily
  • Contact Us
  • Fossil Reveals That Dinosaurs Suffered from Arthritis
  • Our Team
  • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • Terms of Use
  • World Breastfeeding Week: Advantages and Disadvantages

Recent Posts

  • Using Tinder Intended for Hooking Up July 6, 2020
  • An Unbiased Enjoy of Argentine Mail Buy Brides July 1, 2020
  • Positives and negatives Of Going out with Thai Women of all ages June 27, 2020
  • Living, Death and Asian Females Looking For Guy June 27, 2020
  • The Unexposed Top secret of Japanese people Brides June 25, 2020
  • East European And Slavic Birdes-to-be ᐈ Locate Top Females For Marriage Here! June 24, 2020
  • Women Dating For the First Time June 23, 2020

Research on Elephants’ Low Cancer Rates Might Help Treat Humans

October 9, 2015 By Matthew Slotkin Leave a Comment

alt="Baby Elephant"

(Mirror Daily, United States) – Cancer is less spread among elephants than in humans, despite the fact that the big beasts have a lot more cells than we do. Doing more research on elephants’ low cancer rates might help treat humans, as scientists finally have an explanation for the paradox.

Researchers are constantly looking for new ways to prevent cancer in humans, and understanding how the disease affects other species is always a useful insight. Two teams of scientists discovered elephants are simply much better protected against cancer as their cells contain 20 reiterations of an important cancer-suppressing gene. By comparison, humans have just one copy.

The teams still need to prove that more p53 genes can create a cancer-resistant protection for the organism. However, the findings showed that this particular gene can help repair damaged cells or drive them to self-destruct in case of exposure to cancer-causing substances.

If further research confirms this theory, drugs for humans could be developed to mimic the effect of the gene. The leader of one of the research teams, Dr. Joshua Schiffman, a pediatric cancer specialist at the University of Utah, said he was encouraged to start studying this gene a few years ago when he participated in a lecture about Peto’s paradox.

This concept refers to the fact that some of the largest animals, such as whales and elephants, have surprisingly low cancer rates in spite of the many cells that could stimulate the uncontrolled cell growth involved in cancer development.

Schiffman proceeded to analyze elephant blood in order to find clues; his subjects were eight elephants, circus animals, and local zoo animals. Joined by a second team, Schiffman found out the exact number of copies of the gene – 20 extra. The second team focused on finding how many copies other species have – including humans – and discovered most have only one.

They also noticed that the self-destruction rate of an elephant’s cell is twice the rate of the human’s cell. This is important because cells that don’t react to carcinogens by either self-repairing or self-destructing are the ones most prone to develop cancer.

Even though such discoveries rarely lead to immediate treatment, progress in finding a cure cancer is always welcomed. The team took it a step further and planted elephants’ p53 genes into mouse cells, and were surprised to see those cells self-destructing when exposed to DNA-damaging drugs.

Schiffman seeks further funding for his research in an attempt to create a possible treatment for humans based on the elephant research.
Image Source: Pixabay

The following two tabs change content below.
  • Bio
  • Latest Posts

Matthew Slotkin

Matthew Slotkin has graduated from Rice University with a degree in History and English. He worked as an assistant professor before joining The Mirror Daily as a full time writer.

Latest posts by Matthew Slotkin (see all)

  • Mongolian Pterosaur Fossils Likely Belonged to One of the Largest Flying Creatures in the World (Study) - November 2, 2017
  • Long-Lost Jackson’s Climbing Salamander Spotted in Guatemala After 40 Years - October 31, 2017
  • Former Challenger Astronaut Paul Weitz Dies Age 85 - October 26, 2017

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Share on Tumblr

Filed Under: Tech & Science

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent Articles

Albert Einstein in group photo

Einstein’s Travel Diaries Reveal His Lesser Known Racist Side

June 14, 2018 By John Birks

Baobab tree in Tanzania

Southern Africa’s Iconic Baobab Trees Facing Massive Die-Off

June 11, 2018 By John Birks

UFO 'Self Parking' Sign

Researcher Accuses NASA of Massive Alien Cover-Up

March 5, 2018 By John Birks

Elon Musk's flying Tesla roadster

NASA Warns Elon Musk’s Flying Tesla Roadster May Contaminate Mars

February 28, 2018 By John Birks

Windows 10 home screen

Microsoft Working on Making Windows Password-Free

February 12, 2018 By John Birks

Ice Cubes

Scientists Discover Fourth State of Water: Superionic Ice

February 10, 2018 By John Birks

Head of a northern gannet

Forever Alone Nigel the Gannet Found Dead near Fake Partner

February 3, 2018 By John Birks

Globular Star Cluster

Scientists Find Surprise Black Hole in Globular Star Cluster

January 20, 2018 By John Birks

The Amazon Echo Dot

America’s Smart Speaker Market Jumps to 39 Million Users

January 15, 2018 By John Birks

Pink plasma ball

CES 2018: Intel Presents Out-of-This-World Quantum Computer

January 10, 2018 By John Birks

Teen using her iPad

Major Apple Investors Urge Company to Do More About iPhone Addiction

January 8, 2018 By John Birks

Russian spacecraft

Out-of-Control Chinese Space Station Hurling Toward Earth

January 5, 2018 By John Birks

wanning moon seen on the evening sky in between trees

Scientists Thrilled about Trump’s Initiative to Send Explorers Back to the Moon

December 31, 2017 By John Birks

Two iPhone 7 models on table

Apple Confirms Slower-iPhone Conspiracy Theory

December 22, 2017 By John Birks

Related Articles

  • Albert Einstein in group photo

    Einstein’s Travel Diaries Reveal His Lesser Known Racist Side

    Jun 14, 2018
  • Baobab tree in Tanzania

    Southern Africa’s Iconic Baobab Trees Facing Massive Die-Off

    Jun 11, 2018
  • UFO 'Self Parking' Sign

    Researcher Accuses NASA of Massive Alien Cover-Up

    Mar 5, 2018
  • Elon Musk's flying Tesla roadster

    NASA Warns Elon Musk’s Flying Tesla Roadster May Contaminate Mars

    Feb 28, 2018
  • Windows 10 home screen

    Microsoft Working on Making Windows Password-Free

    Feb 12, 2018
  • Ice Cubes

    Scientists Discover Fourth State of Water: Superionic Ice

    Feb 10, 2018
  • Head of a northern gannet

    Forever Alone Nigel the Gannet Found Dead near Fake Partner

    Feb 3, 2018
  • Globular Star Cluster

    Scientists Find Surprise Black Hole in Globular Star Cluster

    Jan 20, 2018
  • The Amazon Echo Dot

    America’s Smart Speaker Market Jumps to 39 Million Users

    Jan 15, 2018
  • Pink plasma ball

    CES 2018: Intel Presents Out-of-This-World Quantum Computer

    Jan 10, 2018

Categories

  • Business & Economy
  • Capital & Retail Sector
  • Health
  • IT & Diversified Sector
  • National & Global News
  • Tech & Science

Copyright © 2021 MirrorDaily.com

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Contact

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more.