So why would cancerous cells, that act abnormally to a normal healthy cell, be used in all these studies?
In: Biology
They’re immortal *because* they’re cancerous.
Basically, cells have a limit to how many times they can divide – the “hayflick” limit. It’s determined by the length of some special DNA called a telomere.
In a normal cell, each time it divides, those telomeres shorten. In some cancers, they don’t – due telomerase enzymes.
As a result, the cell never hits the built – in limiter. And keeps dividing, forever. Which is both part of what makes it a cancer, and why it’s immortal.
In terms of “why use a cancer cell for all those studies”, well, logistics. Having cells you can rapidly grow in a predictable manner is valuable.
And not all studies use HELA cells or even immortalised cell lines. But many do, because they’re logistically useful
Latest Answers