ABSTRACT
People have learned that the cells of the newborn may already hold the key to the destruction of the future adult. Our cells, in turn, are complex factories of life-sustaining biological processes, under control of genes that are composed of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The life of every plant and animal is derived from similar genetic components. These chemicals of life are named adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C), and guanine (G). Alterations in reproductive cells, the sperm or the egg, may be transmitted to the offspring, changing the life of that offspring, expressed as functional or physical defects. Some alterations may be reversed by a cells innate repair mechanisms; some alterations may go unnoticed; but other alterations become permanent and life-threatening, as when a cancer begins. Included are some sources of these damaging agents, and steps they can take to stop the ongoing assault on life called cancer.
