Now
here is an interesting story relating to cancer. Apparently, a ridiculously simple chemical, dichloroacetate, has been shown to be very effective in killing a vast number of different types of cancer. According to the article, it reactivates the mitochondria of cancer cells. In normal cells, these little tykes provide the energy, but cancer cell switch them off because they require more energy than the mitochondria can supply. This trait is shared by all cancerous cells, explaining the chemical's broad effectiveness. The intruiging detail is that active mitochondria also control the process whereby cells terminate themselves. In other words, by switching them off the cancer cells became so hard to kill, and turning them on renders the cancer 'mortal' again: it shrinks and disappears...
I'm most curious to see how this one pans out.
