Scientists have examined hundreds of mummies in unsuccessful attempts to find traces of malignant tumors. From which they concluded: cancer is a modern disease that is provoked by environmental pollution and unhealthy diet
The authors of the sensational findings are Michael Zimmerman, a professor at the University of Manchester and his colleague Rosalie David. They were preceded by many years of research - scientists studied hundreds of mummies of ancient Egypt and South America, about 3 thousand years old. And we did not find clear signs of tumors in them. Only one Egyptian mummy appears to have colon cancer.
If you believe the scientists, then in the literary sources, including the oldest written evidence, there are no hints of the disease, which after thousands of years has become almost the most widespread on Earth. And the second place - after deaths from cardiovascular ailments - it holds firmly.
“Mummified tissue of malignant tumors is better preserved than healthy ones,” Zimmerman says. - We would not miss the mummy with cancer. Moreover, surgery was poorly developed in Egypt. No one would risk cutting out the tumor.
Not finding ancient traces of malignant neoplasms, British scientists concluded: there was no cancer in ancient times. So this is a modern disease. In short, payment for progress.
- In ancient times, cancer, if you did get sick, it is extremely rare, - says Rosalia. - Because there are practically no factors in nature that contribute to the development of oncological diseases. Today, cancer is caused by environmental pollution, changes in our diet and in our way of life.
New Scientist attracted experts - other British scientists - who objected to their colleagues at the University of Manchester.
For example, oncologist Kat Arney from the British Cancer Research UK believes that there are factors in nature that cause cancer. At least ultraviolet light. And besides it - natural radiation. And some viruses that accompany the development of cancer of the uterus and liver.
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Kat believes that her colleagues did not find tumors in mummies for one simple reason: in those days, people rarely lived longer than 50 years. And their cancer did not have time to develop. And if the majority had lasted another 10 or 20 years, they would have acquired some kind of tumor.
“Age is one of the main causes of cancer,” agrees French oncologist Joachim Schüz. - Almost 90 percent of the diseases occur in those who are over 50. And if now suddenly there were a thousand modern mummies that were not 50 years old during their lifetime, it would hardly be possible to find many tumors in them.
How to get around a mummy with rectal cancer? Does it mean that the disease did exist in one form or another? And there is no new secret of ancient Egypt.
There is a secret of all times and peoples. Indeed, it has not been possible to understand the nature of cancer to this day. Of course, there are plenty of hypotheses. As well as the suspects. But there is no exact understanding. Although it has been more than 200 years since the first scientific works appeared, highlighting tumors as a separate disease. Back in 1761, nasopharyngeal cancer was identified and described in tobacco sniffers, and a little later, in 1775, scrotal cancer in chimney sweeps.