A study from the University of California, San Diego shows that fermentation of sugar takes the least amount of energy for cells to grow and thrive (Nature, December 3, 2015). I think this study shows how cancer will be cured in the not-so-distant future. Cancer cells multiply so much faster than normal cells do that they have to be fueled by a source that requires the least amount of energy.
Normal cells have two main sources of energy:
• a series of chemical reactions that require oxygen inside mitochondria that are located inside cells (the Krebs Cycle), and
• fermentation of sugar inside cells but outside their mitochondria, called glycolysis.
Every cell in your body except mature red blood cells has many tiny compartments called mitochondria. Cancer cells are different from normal cells because they have defective mitochondria, so they must get their energy from the fermentation of sugars outside mitochondria to grow and multiply. Previous studies have shown that cancer cells are suppressed just by growing them with fresh healthy mitochondria to provide them with a source of energy other than fermentation of sugar. I predict that cancer will soon be cured by reviving the second source of energy provided by mitochondria.
