Nov 17, 2020
Scientists have come to
visualize
cancer as species in itself, with its own evolutionary patterns
and characteristics. Furthermore, researchers like Henry Heng are
realigning how we think about evolution. This podcast presents a
fascinating conversation about both and how each informs the
other.
Listen and learn
Author and Professor Henry Heng is with the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics at Wayne State University School of Medicine. His research centers on how cancer evolution occurs, what is the unique pattern of cancer evolution, and how to develop tangible tools for a cancer biomarker and treatment leading to a greater molecular medicine impact factor. Author of numerous books, including Genome Chaos: Rethinking Genetics, Evolution, and Molecular Medicine, he also presents an intriguing realignment in how many scientists think about evolution. In fact, he uses the nature of cancer evolution as a model to understand how evolution works overall.
Think about it: cancer is always
under attack by our system; it's always evolving and fighting back
and presents an interesting model to understand how competition
occurs. For a long time people thought of cancer as a problem of
over growth, he says, and tried to find genetic reasons for this
overgrowth. But scientists like Heng understand that this was the
wrong emphasis.
Rather than overgrowth, he says, cancer is just another
evolutionary system with its own signature. The question is then,
rather, what is the overall trend. This leads to an interesting
explanation of how nonsexual reproduction, or fission, opens cells
up to the kinds of changes that lead to cancer.
Cancer is a type of punctuated evolution, a reshuffling
resulting from the dynamic mechanism our cells use for successful
adaptation:
cancer is simply too much change. Listen in for the implication
of how this may affect genetics biology and cancer treatments in
the future.
For more about Henry Heng's
work, he suggests his recent books, including
Genome Chaos: Rethinking
Genetics, Evolution, and Molecular Medicine
and Debating Cancer: The Paradox in Cancer
Research.
Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK