This piece gave me a new perspective on the human body – and on cancer. The author describes how our bodies appear poorly designed in many ways, more fragile and less regenerative than those of other species. Well, evolution knew what it was doing: rapid cell growth that helps with regeneration is also what drives cancer. So, trade-offs had to be made. If we lived in a universe where cancer were impossible, our bodies would indeed be enormously more regenerative and longer-lasting. And so, to take this one step further: «Even if you don’t get cancer, cancer still hurts you, because your body was forced to take costly preventative actions.» And that also means that even if we one day managed to completely cure cancer, we’d still live in bodies that are optimised for avoiding cancer.

From Weekly Filet #588, in October 2026.