We understand how important genetics are for human health. From simple things such as skin and eye color to our metabolism and various illnesses. In cancer development, genes stand as one of the most important pillars. Random mutations emerge. Genes are expressed. Cells separate from their tissue community and go rogue. They divide uncontrollably and turn against the body.
This is the conventional story. But what if there was a potential theory that explains the origin and reversal of cancer on a higher level? Instead of genetics, what if it was something related to a simple concept of communication and community amongst cells?
This thought-provoking concept comes from Tufts University professor Dr. Michael Levin, who proposes that we may be able to reverse cancer, not by editing the genes or killing the tumors, but by helping the rogue cells communicate back with the healthy cells – through restoring their bioelectrical signals.
As we all learned in biology class, each cell holds a certain electrical gradient thanks to the ions channels and pumps along its membrane. When a collective group of cells come together, they create what’s called bioelectric fields that drive important functions such as cellular development, repair mechanisms, and tissue regulation.
What’s interesting is that these bioelectric fields supercede gene expression, meaning they can switch genes on or off and direct the fate of cells without altering the DNA itself. Essentially, these electrical signals manage what, where, and when certain parts of genetic code gets used!
Talk about how these tiny voltages have an enormous impact!
To apply this concept, Levin’s team manipulated frog tadpole embryos with tumor genes to cause cancer. Instead of editing the genes, they used ion channel-modulating drugs to restore back the normal bioelectric signals around the tumor cells.
The shocking result? The tumors reversed, and the once rogue cancer cells re-integrated back into their original function amongst the other normal tissues.
To put it simply, the re-established bioelectric fields normalized the behavior of the cancer cells, reminding the cells of their original identity and role in their community. All while the genetic tumor mutations were still active!
This is an astounding example of how these bioelectric fields regulate cellular behavior above and beyond genetics, suggesting that a cell’s environmental context matters as much as its predestined code.
Conventional medical oncology views all cancer cells as threats that must be eliminated – by drugs, radiation, gene therapy, or surgical extraction.
But what if we can integrate Levin’s work into this approach? Instead of killing off the rogue enemies, how about we remind them of who they originally were and bring them back to the community? By restoring this communication pattern via bioelectric fields, this approach may act as a true top-down regulator of tissue organization and cancer development. And I have to say that this does not negate the significance of genetics.
But this does invoke a powerful question: Is the shared language between cells more important than the genetic fates they carry?
For: electrician’s guide to our galaxy
