College Essays-Based on your data and observations, what are some of the differences between normal cells and cancer cells?
This lab explores three common cancers. An additional form of cancer – Skin Cancer – used to be seen only in older individuals but is now seen in younger individuals, many in their early 20s. Skin cancer results from accumulated mutations to the DNA of skin cells, caused primarily by sun exposure. What factors do you think may be contributing to the increase in skin cancer among young adults?
When studying cell division in tissue samples, scientists often calculate a mitotic index, which is the ratio of dividing cells to the total number of cells in the sample. Which type of tissue would have a higher mitotic index, normal tissue or cancerous tissue? Explain.
Different types of normal tissues in the human body have different mitotic indices. From the following list, which normal tissues would you expect to have the highest mitotic index: muscle, skin, kidney, or lung? Explain your answer.
