Class+notes+-+Rachel

September 10, 2007
Cancer Cells
 * 10^13 - 10,000,000,000,000 cells in the body
 * DNA damaged
 * radiation, sun, smoke, chemicals
 * immortal cell - it never dies
 * protection from cancer
 * PCD - programmed cell death
 * 2 genes (gene has the information a protien)
 * protoncogene - encourages cell division
 * tumor supressors (p53) - stop cell division
 * these 2 genes damaged in cancer cells
 * protooncogene -
 * normally encourages cell division
 * after DNA damage - oncogene => and cell division goes crazy
 * tumor supressors
 * noramlly inhibits cell division
 * after DNA damaged no longer inhibits cell division
 * cells that are cancer cells (weird cells)
 * ends of DNA (telomene) never gets shorter
 * weird large nucleus - multilobed
 * no function except to divide
 * cancer cells can pile up on each other
 * normal cells stop dividing if they touch another cell but cancer cells make tumors