Elephant Genes Hold Cancer-Fighting Secret By Laura Geggel: Article Analysis

In the article, “Elephant Genes Hold Cancer-Fighting Secret,” the author, Laura Geggel, explains how researchers have recently discovered that cancer is less common in elephants than in humans because they have more copies of a gene that stops tumor growth. Researchers that understand how this gene has evolved and why it works to stop cancer growth in elephants may be able help find ways to treat or cure cancer in humans. Researchers conducted a study that focused mainly on the TP53 gene, which normally codes for a protein that stops tumor growth. In many human cancers, this gene is mutated and unable to do its job, which allows increased cell reproduction and genomic instability. Humans inherit one copy of TP53 from each of their parents and