The New York Times has a great cartoon video explaining three predominant theories of how cancer progresses from a single cell into a metastatic tumor. The narrated video discusses:
- The microbe theory-whereby an otherwise symbiotic relationship between bacteria and their host is spoiled by miscommunication
- The Junk DNA theory
- The MicroRNA theory-whereby microRNA either prevents mRNA from reaching the ribosome or intercepts and changes the mRNA message
Click on the picture below to see the video on the NYT website.
Tags: art and science, biotechnology, cancer research, genetics, personalized medicine