4 ms·
It's not a waste of money. Therapies for certain cancers do get developed and, in conducting such research, we learn a great deal more about cell biology. Yes,
by quasque 13y ago
It's not a waste of money. Therapies for certain cancers do get developed and, in conducting such research, we learn a great deal more about cell biology.
Yes, the trigger for carcinogenic mutations is mostly environmental influence - some of which can be controlled and some of which can't - but that's no reason to cease funding research into the actual cellular mechanisms of cancer.
- fasteo 13y agoFair enough, but I see cell biology advances as a by-product of cancer research as in "how does this cancerous cell react to this candidate drug ?" instead of "why does a healthy cell go havoc ? Why is the immune system unable to detect and destroy a cell gone havoc ?"
- quasque 13y agoI see what you're saying but it's not really just a by-product, it's an integral part of the research. Both the "why" and the "how" are needed, especially when looking at rational drug design to have specific targets to screen for.