In health news...
Cancer cells get their energy to multiply
through fermentation.
In an attempt to prevent them doing that,
a team of Korean researchers are developing
new cancer treatment methods that restrain
the fermentation process.
Park Se-young has the story.
Beer is made of wheat or barley, and yeast
converts the glucose in the wort to alcohol.
This fermentation process is carried out in
the absence of oxygen.
Cancer cells use the same process to produce
energy.
Without using oxygen, cancer cells convert
sugar into lactic acid.
Healthy human cells produce energy using oxygen
through respiration.
Oxygen-based metabolism produces more energy,
but the cost to produce molecules for respiration
are twice those needed to ferment glucose.
Also, the by-products from the fermentation
process can be used to form cancer cells during
research, …making the method even more cost-effective.
This study could even have implications in
identifying potential targets in treating
cancer.
"If we block the metabolism of cancer cells
in collaboration with existing anti-cancer
drugs, it will boost their effectiveness.
Fermentation does not only occur in foods
and drinks such as Kimchi and beer, it may
even provide a new strategy to treat cancer.
Park Se-young, Arirang News.
