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Special | 2m 24s | Video has closed captioning.
In this episode, we take you into the war room during the heat of battle with cancer to see what options we have in our arsenal and how they work.
Aired: 04/01/20
From:
(intense music) - [Man] They're calling in a chemo strike.
(alarm blaring) - It's about time.
That'll stop it!
- [Man] But sir, a chemo attack will destroy the whole town!
- The tumor's grown too big, we can't stop it.
Chemo is our only chance of survival.
- Wait a second, they're holding the chemo.
Too much collateral damage.
They're sending in a precision strike team to do recon.
- Recon?
There's no time, chemo it now.
- Sir, we have better technology now.
Okay, we can get in behind enemy lines, decode the genes, and learn how it is attacking.
- I've lost a lot of cells, a lot of good cells fighting this cancer.
I can't lose another.
- Well chemo might kill it, but it will definitely kill more cells, making it hard to fight again if the cancer comes back or if other enemies invade.
- I won't lose another one, not one more cell!
Brief me on this strike team, how does it work?
- [Man] One of our doctors sneaks into the tumor, nabs some DNA and learns all the cancer's secrets.
- [Patient] Hmm.
- Well different cancers have different vulnerabilities, so once the doctor hones in on the enemy's weak spot, a strike team is sent in quietly, cleanly, and with no collateral damage.
- [Patient] A precision strike.
- A precision strike.
And it's not just about finding the enemy's weaknesses.
Doctors can also look at a patient's genes to gather intelligence about the strength of the troops.
- [Patient] Well, then brief me.
- [Man] Okay, situation cancer advancing.
Now instead of just sending out troops in a pill and hoping that it works, the doctor can do some recon to the patient's genes.
- [Patient] Yeah.
- [Man] And see exactly what kind of troops will work best with the patient's genes to make sure they are using the best tactics.
- Well why didn't we use this in the Great Respiratory War?
- We just weren't there yet.
- Well, let's get ready for the precision strike.
Coms, put in a call to the president.
(smooth jazz music)
The Gene.
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What the heck is a gene, anyway? This animated series won’t get you a PhD, but it does clear up a few mysteries about how genes work and what they might look like in the future. (Microscope not required.)
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