A mirror molecule can starve cancer cells without harming healthy cells

Scientists have discovered that a rare mirror-image version of the amino acid cysteine can dramatically slow the growth of certain cancers while leaving healthy cells largely untouched. Unlike most anticancer treatments that harm normal tissues, this molecule-called D-cysteine-is taken up mainly by some cancer cells through a specific transporter on their surface. Once inside, it shuts down a crucial mitochondrial enzyme that cancer cells rely on to produce energy and maintain DNA, effectively h...