How do we know something causes cancer? Aren’t there essentially infinite variables it would be impossible to control for?
In: 40
Cancer is uncontrolled cell growth. Cell division is regulated by a number of proteins in the body. When they stop working, there are no checks being made and the cell divides without control. The cause of this is DNA mutation as DNA code for the proteins. Change the DNA = change the protein.
Scientists can observe if and how chemicals interact with DNA. Some ways would be to introduce mice/rats to the suspected chemical and check for cancer after time had passed.
Many things have been discovered to cause cancer this way, For example, radiation is simply high energy waves that literally shake the DNA to pieces.
BTW, there are two terms used for this:
Mutagenic – causes mutations in DNA
Carcinogenic – causes cancer
Latest Answers