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BEIJING, Oct. 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Elephants rarely get cancer, now scientists know why.
Researchers said lately they have discovered the secret to the world's biggest land animal of their special protection ability.
According to the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, elephants have 38 additional modified copies of a gene that encodes p53, a compound that suppresses tumor formation. Humans, on the other hand, have only two.
"We think that making more p53 is nature's way of keeping this species alive," said co-senior author Joshua Schiffman, pediatric oncologist at Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah School of Medicine.
Elephants also come naturally equipped with a special internal mechanism for killing damaged cells that are at risk for becoming cancerous, researchers said.
Scientists hope that by decoding elephants' cancer-fighting skills, they might gain new insights into how to better prevent human cancer.
(Agencies)
