The Lazarus Mice

Right now, the only way to find out whether a substance causes cancer is to expose animals to a lot of it. By forcing mice or rats to consume the equivalent of millions of cigarettes or hamburgers over a short period, researchers try to deduce what a pack or a Big Mac a day might do to a human over a lifetime. It is a dubious procedure, and cancer researchers know it. But it is the only one they’ve got.