SOME animals don’t get cancer easily, or never at all. Something in their genetic makeup is hardwired to fight cancer. Understanding why, could help scientists treat and prevent it.
Research shows that the elephant genome turned out to contain a lot of copies of a cancer-fighting gene. Known as p53, it is a tumour suppressor. Most mammals have it, including humans, but we only have one copy whereas elephants have 20.
When scientists combed [ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ]through the bowhead whale genome, they discovered mutations that help prevent DNA from being damaged, protecting the whales from cancer.
Mice are extremely cancer-prone, even though they live short lives and have far fewer cells than humans. But not all rodents face this fate. The naked mole rat defies the odds and offers hope for future cancer treatments by producing a special molecule that prevents them from developing tumours.
Here the list of long-living animals who simply never develop cancer.
