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Reverse 7
Reverse 7
Summary
After a half of a century, mainstream big science has completely
reversed its dogma on how it is necessary that cancer cells partition their
nutrient resources, in a specific way, between material for cell growth and
energy production. A thirty years ago modified version of the originally
rejected Warburg theory, now has powerful support from newly integrated
metabolic pathway studies and core system therapies. This theory: worse than
being ignored, and being actively squelched by a small, but elite group,
controlling the publication and funding philosophy of cancer during this
whole time span. Only the future will tell how much human suffering, could
have been prevented, if just honest inquiry and scrutiny had also been allowed
to flower, instead of the exclusionary and prejudicial pursuit of personal
influence over pet investigative paradigms. Much precious time, knowledge
and human life were lost enforcing such preconception, assumption, and
opinion upon the course of scientific investigation. Fortunately, but belatedly,
data and fact finally triumphed over politics and elevated position. Newly
discovered metabolic control systems may benefit us all, not only in the
medical area of cancer, but in therapeutic arenas of some other major diseases
of aging, as well. A brief human, scientific, data and fact history is contained,
herein.
Introduction
In a watershed reversal of an entrenched fifty four year old dogma,
Science magazine published a Special Section issue on 12/03/10 devoted to
metabolic energetics; and more so to the diseases of aging, such as heart
disease, diabetes II and especially, cancer. Most important, from a historical
(and this document’s) standpoint, is the article on p.1340 by Levine and
Puzio-Kuter, which concludes that key elements of the Warburg aerobic
glycolysis hypothesis are critical to and necessary for the initiation and
maintenance of the transition from the normal cell to cancer cell metabolic
pattern. In most of our previous (and this) papers, we refer to this conversion
as the cancer ‘metabotype.’ This publication did not surprise us, as our
prediction that such a ‘revelation’ would happen soon, has its basis not just in
new, but in firm, and very old, evidence. From 1956 to near present times,
such a pronouncement would have been considered heretical, and so taboo as
to be refused publication in any major scientific journal or to have received
any research funding by any respectable granting agency. This sorry story
goes back to the mid twentieth century. Although science itself may be
impartial, scientists, being all too human, are not. Their organizations and
institutions consist of hierarchies of power, influence and opinion no different
from that of any other political system. Sometimes, even the ‘show me’,
‘replicate to prove’, and peer review crosscheck and verification safeguards of
scientific inquiry can be swept away in the emotional heat of the moment. As
such, was the fury and wholesale rejection surrounding the towering influence
of the Nobel laureate, Otto Warburg and his aerobic glycolysis hypothesis.
Fortunately, for science and the rest of us, blunders of this magnitude are rare.
Science, for all its outward appearances of rational intelligence and
progresses that have arisen from its aggregate achievements, can obscure the
view from inside individual laboratories or in narrow areas of specialization,
where it can be actually shown that science moves forward more so in fits and
starts, lurches and bounds and often in haphazard random walks. Scientific
disagreements usually take place without much beyond a few political ripples,
as friendly (or otherwise) combatants ruffle each other’s feathers on a one to
one, or small group basis. In short, things do not normally get out of hand.
Such is not the case with the Warburg hypothesis, or the refinements of
its one and only significant shortcoming. For over a half of a century, the
subject of aerobic glycolysis has been verboten; sealed with skull and
crossbones. In 1956, Warburg’s two valid hypotheses went down the same
drain used to flush down his third imperfect hypothesis. More significantly,
even the study of general intermediary metabolism, itself, has moved into
similar backwaters for the last 30 years. How and why did this happen? What
has caused such a profound reversal in our thinking? How have we, (science
and medicine) been hurt by this? Can we, or do we resolve the inequities of
the past and/or give credit where credit is due? What are the medical
implications of our newly found logical reversal? Where do we go from here?
Answers to some of these questions, in part or more fully, are available
in the Science article referenced in the second sentence of this paper. We
highly recommend that the reader look into this article, because it (ever so
quietly) represents probably the biggest biomedical upheaval, reversal and
revolution in more than a half century. This is no small potatoes. We are
looking at a genuine historical paradigm shift of momentous dimensions, the
historical importance, of which, aerobic glycolysis naysayers would wish to
remain hidden in the attic, like a senile grandparent, because the ‘unquiet’
story version is simply just too embarrassing. We know this is true, because
one of us was there; lived it. We take a little different tack than Science, when
answering such questions and while remembering the fifty-four year
aformentioned history. We are going to talk a little science, but the real heavy
stuff we will leave to the reader to find in our short, but highly informative
reference list. Regardless, it helps to have a basic background in metabolics,
nutrition and bioenergetics or biochemistry 101. For the less technically
initiated, scan over the science stuff, paying deeper attention to the human
narrative woven throughout this document, as it is instructive in its own way.
Afterword
The saddest, and sickest, part of this whole, pathetic dirge is that we had
a correct outline of a coherent cancer metabolism theory; and a few central
pathway assault systems, over thirty years ago. These are just being
‘rediscovered’ today. Only the future will tell us how much unnecessary time
and life have been lost. Let us just hope that we will never suffer from the
likes of such a ‘theory-bigotry’ ever again.