How are cancer cells different than normal cells?

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How are cancer cells different than normal cells?

Play the news clip linked below and record what you notice and wonder as you watch.

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Common Questions:

Compare your questions to what other students have asked.

Were they similar?

• Why would she only have 5 years to live?
• So was it a mole or a blackhead that grew into cancer?
• Where the mole come from - how did it grow there?
• What is a melanoma?
• Is a mole and melanoma the same thing or did a mole turn into a melanoma?
• Why is she still on medicine if she is cancer free?
• What did the doctor mean by it travels through the lymphatic system

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Common Questions:

Compare your questions to what other students have asked.

Were they similar?

• Why would she only have 5 years to live?
• So was it a mole or a blackhead that grew into cancer?
• Where the mole come from - how did it grow there?
• What is a melanoma?
• Is a mole and melanoma the same thing or did a mole turn into a melanoma?
• Why is she still on medicine if she is cancer free?
• What did the doctor mean by it travels through the lymphatic system

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What ideas do we have?

What do we need to figure out?

Write down some things you know, or think you know, about cancer and cells. Also document any ideas you have about what we need to figure out Make a chart on your paper that looks like the one below.

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What causes cells to change?

What questions do you have after watching this video? Write down your questions and share your questions with someone.

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Common Questions:

Compare your questions to what other students have asked.

Were they similar?

• What are free radicals?
• How do mutations change DNA?
• How can mutation cause some cells to be different?
• What does radiation do?
• What kinds of changes occur?
• How do mutations make the cells different?
• How are mutations corrected?
• Does this cause other diseases?

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Making observations of cell division

What questions do you have after watching this video? Write down your questions and share your questions with someone.

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So far we figured out….

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• p53 is a gene that 'guards our genome' this means it's job is to protect our cell
• Elephants have many copies of this gene (40) and other animals have a lot less, like humans (2).
• Some organisms only have one copy of the p53 gene (some humans) and are at a greater risk for developing cancer.
• The p53 gene destroys mutated cells in the body so they can not reproduce.
• Studying elephants could lead to helping human that have cancer.

Explore the link below

Click on the picture and click through the cell cycle activity. Make sure you click on the sections in the middle of the circle and all the checkpoints. Please take notes as you work your way through.

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What did we figure out??

• Cells contain DNA.
• Cells divide and reproduce through a process called mitosis, which has several different stages.
• Mitosis has checkpoints in place to ensure cells divide correctly, however sometime mutations get through.
• Mutations are changes in the cells DNA.
• Mutations happen all the the time but are usually repaired.
• Some mutations can cause uncontrolled cell growth.
• Uncontrolled cell growth can happen in different ways but each result in too many cells being produced

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Let’s go back to our lesson question...

How are cancer cells different than normal cells?

• Cancer cells are different than normal cells because they have been mutated (changed) in some way.
• Some mutations cause uncontrolled cell division.
• Cancer is caused by a mutation of the cells DNA that causes uncontrolled cell division.
• Megan, the girl from the video, had a mutation in her skin cells
• For Megan, the uncontrolled cell division of her skin cells formed a melanoma, a type of skin cancer

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