The vast majority of the thousands of chemicals in our homes and workplaces have not been tested to determine if they cause cancer due to limitations in current testing methods. Berkeley Lab scientists are developing a cell culture that better identifies chemicals that increase breast cancer susceptibility. Paul Yaswen and his team in the Environmental Genomics & Systems Biology Division will grow the culture using adult stem cells obtained from breast tissue. Unlike today’s cell cultures, their test will show if a chemical causes a breakdown in cell-to-cell communication… a fundamental defect of cancer. Read more at the Berkeley Lab News Center.
