Bug in the System: The Past, Present and Future of Cancer - Episode 1 - a podcast by BBC Radio 4

Dr Kat Arney explores cancer through the lens of evolution.

Why do we get cancer? In this episode we find out that far from being a new disease, cancer is embedded deep in almost every branch of the tree of life, from the very earliest organisms through to today, and in most species from aardwolves to zebras. Kat explores how the origins of cancer are inseparable from the history of life itself, with the help of some ancient mummies, cheating amoebas, lazy bees and naked mole rats.

Produced for BBC Audio Bristol by Beth Sagar-Fenton
Edited by Chris Ledgard

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