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I enjoyed this metaphor even though it's a bit misleading. Suspension of apoptosis is necessary, but not sufficient, for cancer. We have plenty of non-cancerou

I enjoyed this metaphor even though it's a bit misleading. Suspension of apoptosis is necessary, but not sufficient, for cancer. We have plenty of non-cancerous cells that rarely or never undergo apoptosis such as neurons or stem. The implication that immortality = cancer does not follow.

restalis 10y ago
"The implication that immortality = cancer does not follow." Indeed, cellular immortality may be cancer when it gets against apoptosis and it's just a natural thing when not. Cancer as well comprises a wider range of anomalous cellular developments that most often does not turn off the apoptosis. The metaphor however was about selfishness, on individual organism and cell level.