Understanding Cancer Resistance in Large Mammals

What is Peto's Paradox?

• The phenomenon where larger mammals have lower cancer rates than expected.

• The observation that larger animals have more cancer.

• The theory that all animals have the same cancer rates.

• The idea that smaller animals are more resistant to cancer.

What significant discovery was made about elephants in relation to cancer resistance?

• They have fewer cells than other mammals.

• They have a unique diet that prevents cancer.

• They have extra copies of the TP53 gene.

• They do not have any tumor suppressor genes.

What role does the TP53 gene play in elephants?

• It increases the number of cells.

• It helps in DNA damage repair and cell cycle regulation.

• It causes cells to divide more rapidly.

• It is responsible for the elephant's large size.

How do bowhead whales differ from elephants in their cancer resistance mechanism?

• They have more TP53 genes.

• They repair DNA damage with high accuracy.

• They have fewer cells.

• They live in colder environments.

What did researchers find about the DNA repair proteins in bowhead whales?

• They are highly expressed and improve DNA repair fidelity.

• They are less efficient than in humans.

• They do not play a role in cancer resistance.

• They are identical to those in mice.