The Crazy Way Cancer Gets its Energy

In 10 seconds? Cancers use an intriguing process to get energy from the food we eat. Scientific discoveries about this process have led to new cancer treatments and even helped broadly advance scientific research.

What’s the story? Whether your metabolism runs fast or slow–I can assure you it’s not as weird as cancer’s metabolism! Before you ask, metabolism refers to the processes that our cells use to get energy from the food we eat. Cancer, it turns out, prefers to use an intriguing and seemingly counterintuitive metabolic process. But to fully understand what I’m talking about, we need to take a step back. Now, I’m sure you remember all about glycolysis and aerobic respiration (AKA oxidative phosphorylation) from high school biology…