Why Do Cancer Cells Choose Inefficient Energy Production?

Why do cancer cells choose inefficient energy production over normal respiration?

Cancer cells deliberately use an inefficient form of glucose metabolism called aerobic glycolysis, even when oxygen is abundant - a phenomenon that has puzzled scientists for nearly a century. This metabolic rewiring, known as the Warburg effect, allows tumors to produce lactate from glucose 10-100 times faster than normal cellular respiration, despite generating far less energy per glucose molecule.

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Who Was Otto Warburg and Why Does His Cancer Research Still Matter?

Who was Otto Warburg and why does his cancer research still matter?

Otto Warburg was a Nobel Prize-winning German scientist whose 1920s discovery that cancer cells consume glucose differently than normal cells revolutionized our understanding of tumor biology. His observation that tumors produce lactic acid even when oxygen is present - now called the Warburg effect - remains one of the most studied phenomena in cancer research today.

Born in 1883 to a prestigious German academic family, Warburg grew up surrounded by scientific giants like Albert Einstein and Max Planck, who regularly visited his father’s home for musical evenings. This early exposure to rigorous scientific thinking shaped his approach to research that would span nearly seven decades.

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