Harnessing the Elephant In The Fight Against Cancer
Elephants supposedly have excellent memories so you might logically think they would have a role to play in research on Alzheimer’s disease.
But the mammoth mammals have a much smaller incidence of cancer than humans and so science and medicine are looking to our pachydermatic pals for help with cancer.
As big as they are, elephants have many more cells than human, cells that could go rogue but don’t and scientists now think they might know why.
Researchers have found that elephants' cells contain 20 copies of a major cancer-suppressing gene, p53, while humans just have one copy. The gene helps damaged cells repair themselves or self-destruct when exposed to cancer-causing substances.
If research confirms that the extra copies of the p53 gene is in fact responsible for elephants' low cancer rate, the information could potentially be used to create treatments to help prevent cancer from developing in humans.
If that happens then it’s the elephant that will become unforgettable!