Ecuadorian dwarves with cancer resistance...?

[BadPoison]

Ecuadorian dwarves immune to cancer...?

A tiny, remote Ecuadorian village has had a rough lot, you might think. They're dwarves, descended from a lineage of Portuguese and Spaniards, coerced into Christian conversion and then persecuted by the Inquisition. The upshot? They don't get cancer.

They're afflicted with what's known as Laron syndromeâ€"the genetic mutation responsible for their diminutive size (below 3.5 feet, on average). But this same mutation also robs the villagers of a cellular receptor responsible for pumping out growth hormoneâ€"and it's this robbery, the New York Times reports, that simultaneously imbues them with an apparent immunity to both cancer and diabetes. After 24 years of study by an Ecuadorian doctor, the 99 tracked villagers came down with startlingly few cases of either ailment. "I discovered the population in 1987," explains Dr. Guevara-Aguirre. "In 1994, I noticed these patients were not having cancer compared with their relatives." The obvious effect of growth hormone deficiency isâ€"yes-not growing. That's why they're dwarves. But their cells have superpowers.

When researchers applied a genetic serum derived from the Laron villagers to cells in a petri dish, they observed two incredible effectsâ€"it acted as a shield against artificial damage. And when damage did occur, the the cells self-destructedâ€"heading off the proliferation of faulty cells that leads to the growth of cancer.

Maybe someone with a stronger biology background can tell me if this is tabloid science or something more serious...

[joeactor]

... yeah, I'd just read this yesterday.

Interesting that it doesn't extend their life span.

They also seem to die from more alcohol related causes.