Archive for the 'cancer' Category

The fountain of youth?

When we learned about mitosis gone awry a few weeks ago, we talked about how cancer cells do not display density-dependent inhibition, nor do they display contact inhibition. In short, cancer cells are not familiar with the concept of personal space, nor do they realize they're hogging the space they're in. A new [...]

How Agent Orange causes cancer

I read this article today, which caught my eye, since we're learning the nitty gritty about mitochondrial function: Agent orange chemical, dioxin, attacks the mitochondria to cause cancer, says Penn research team Here's a little background on Agent Orange: Agent Orange has been around since the 1940's as an agricultural herbicide and defoliant--in [...]

I like my scientific history with a twist of bioethical dilemma, please

In 1951, a woman named Henrietta Lacks unknowingly became one of medical history's most important sources of information about cancer. She also became one of biomedical ethics' most controversial figures--both celebrated and reviled, through no fault of her own. Lacks went into the hospital in February of that year complaining of a [...]