The disease of cancer has been becoming more common within
the past years. With no absolute cure, “cancer” is a word that no one wants to
hear come out of his or her doctor’s mouth. Scientists all over the world have
been studying cancer cells to attempt at finding a cure. One scientist, David Axelrod, does that here at Rutgers University. Professor Axelrod studies the
way that cancer cells interact with normal cells and tries to determine when
they transform into cancer cells. He has worked with breast cancer cells in the
past, but most recently he is focusing his work on colon cancer. The research
that David Axelrod and other scientists perform, help us understand the
mutations of normal cells into cancer cells and could possibly lead to better
treatment methods.
Many people
enter into the field of cancer research because they want to find a cure, or
because they know someone who had cancer. Surprisingly, David Axelrod did not
enter the genetics/cancer field for either of those reasons.
“There were a lot
of opportunities available with microorganisms, and I found them to be
interesting. It wasn’t that I thought I could help people”, David Axelrod said.
The fact that he is performing this research simply because he finds it
interesting and enjoyable is somewhat inspiring to the youth. Yes, it would be
great to have a job that helps people, but the best career a person can hope
for is one where they find their work both interesting and stimulating. A
person like David Axelrod, performing research simply because he finds in
interesting brings the world closer to understanding the way in which cancer
cells operate. If someone researches
cancer just because they want to help people, that doesn’t mean they also find
their work stimulating. In order for
results to appear, we need scientists who research because they have a passion
for it. We need researchers who find
their everyday work to be both enjoyable and interesting with no alternative
motive. One such researcher is David
Axelrod at Rutgers University.
The
novel Your Brain on Childhood: The Unexpected Side Effects of Classrooms, Ballparks, Family Rooms, and the Minivan was written by Gabrielle
Principle. She is a professor at Urisnus College and the story explores the
downside of a so-called normal childhood in today’s society. It confronts the
way that parents in today’s society raise their children. Parents seem to try
and teach their children with television programs, in the hopes that their
child will become more mature and possibly more intelligent at a faster rate.
In their later stages, parents push them into doing things such as, piano
lessons or baseball practices simply because they believe that the brain will
develop faster. Today’s society views the development of the brain as a race,
when it is not. The brain must develop in its own way in its own time. It does
not need all of the excess things to try and accelerate the development. This
novel seems interesting because the author, Gabrielle Principle, tries to
demonstrate how the childhood process could be naturalized, allowing brain
development to occur at its own pace. I think that this would be an interesting
story to read because it could open your eyes to something you don’t
necessarily notice normally. We see the progression of society and technology
as good advancements, but this novel could suggest that those advancements
could be having a negative affect on the development of the brain in children.
Maybe the author’s message is that children should not be forced to develop
faster than their body wants to. We should just let the process of brain
development occur as naturally as possible.
David Axelrod is a scientist and professor for the department of genetics at Rutgers University. David Axelrod
focuses most of his studies on oncology, the study of cancer, and the instability of these
cancer cells. Several methods are used during his research including molecular
biology, cell biology, and even computer simulation. Lately, Dr. Axelrod’s main
focus is on breast cancer and breast cancer cells. He studies the heterogeneity and progress of the
breast cancer cells to determine how they mutate. His research helps bring a better understanding to the
progression of breast cancer cells. He has published many works and one particular published work introduces the
idea of the game theory and its role in understanding cancer cells. Since every
cancer cell within a certain tumor is different, they all act as “players” of the
game theory. Each cancer cell has different mutations and needs but within the
tumor, they cooperate together. The research of David Axelrod could benefit not
only people already affected with cancer, but also those not diagnosed. His
research could open up many more doors to the understanding of cancer cells and
could possibly lead to better ways of treatment for cancer patients.
