One Renegade Cell: The Quest for the Origin of Cancer

by Weinberg, Robert A

• ISBN13: 9780465072767
• ISBN10: 0465072763
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-10-08
• Publisher: BASIC BOOKS

Summary

One of the leading cancer researchers in the world, Robert A. Weinberg is perfectly suited to describe the search for cancer's origins from the early days of this century to the present. Presuming little knowledge of biology, he tells how a cancer-causing virus was first discovered in 1909, how the correlation was made between chemical carcinogens and cancer, and how oncogenes (the genes that can turn a cell malignant) work. He explains clearly how malignant cells send messages to one another and also block the messages of normal cells. Finally, Weinberg predicts that cancer prevention may depend on our ability to understand the mysterious chemical clock that regulates our cells' most basic functions. One Renegade Cell offers a concise, accessible route into the complex and often daunting world of cancer and cancer research.

Author Biography

As a computer specialist, Lois H. Gresh designs tests for security loopholes, as well as designing and coding corporate websites and systems. As a fiction writer, Gresh is the author of dozens of suspense and science fiction stories. She lives in Rochester, New York.Robert Weinberg's fiction writing has been nominated for the Hugo, World Fantasy, and Balrog awards, and he is a two-time winner of the World Fantasy Award. He lives in Chicago.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	v
The Enemy Within: Genes, Cells, and the Nature of Cancer	1	(12)
Clues to Cancer's Origins: How the Outside World Affects the Insides of Our Cells	13	(12)
The Elusive Quarry: Hunting the Proto-oncogene	25	(12)
Fatal Flaws: Finding Oncogenes in Human Tumors	37	(8)
A Book of Many Chapters: Multistep Tumor Development	45	(10)
Fueling the Fire: Carcinogens That Aren't Mutagens	55	(8)
Brake Linings: The Discovery of Tumor Suppressor Genes	63	(16)
Guts: A Case Study in Cancer Development	79	(8)
Defenders of the Text: DNA Repair and Its Breakdown	87	(8)
Guide Proteins of the Cell: The Machinery That Controls Growth	95	(10)
A Breakdown of Order: Subverting Normal Growth Control	105	(8)
Immortality: Avoidance of Almost Certain Death	113	(8)
Assisted Suicide: Apoptosis and the Death Program	121	(10)
A Clock Without Hands: The Cell Cycle Clock Apparatus	131	(10)
Many Obstacles in the Road: The Evolution of a Tumor	141	(10)
An End to the Scourge: Using the Knowledge of Cancer's Causes to Develop New Cures	151	(14)
Index	165