To: William H Huebl who wrote (53427 ) 7/25/2001 1:37:02 PM From: Skeet Shipman Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 94695 This may be of interest to some readers. An Alternative Theory On Cancer Almost a century ago German biologist Theodor Boveri noted that tumor cells were associated with groupings having increased numbers of chromosomes, an aneuploidy. arbl.cvmbs.colostate.edu He suggested that it could be the cause of cancer. The idea lost traction when no one could find a particular pattern of aneuploidy that correlated with malignancy, except in chronic myelogenous leukemia, which is not a true cancer because it doesn't spread from the blood to other parts of the body. Peter Duesberg and a few other scientists have analyzed aneuploidy more closely and argued that it can explain many of the mysteries of cancer better than the current theories. Their alternative story begins when a carcinogen interferes with a dividing cell, causing it to produce daughter cells with unbalanced chromosomes. These aneuploid cells usually die of their deformities. If the damage is minor, however, they may survive yet become genetically unstable, so that the chromosomes are altered further in the next cell division. The cells in tumors thus show a variety of mutations to the genes and the chromosomes. Because each chromosome hosts thousands of genes, aneuploidy creates massive genetic chaos inside the cell. "The cell becomes essentially a whole new species unto itself," Since any new "species" of cell is extremely unlikely to do better in the body than a native human cell--and that may explain why tumors take so long to develop even after intense exposure to a carcinogen. The aneuploid cells must go through many divisions, evolving at each one, before they hit on a combination that can grow more or less uncontrollably anywhere in the body.sciam.com Skeet