by _xerces_ on 5/17/25, 3:06 PM with 30 comments
by fabian2k on 5/17/25, 4:32 PM
They did some experiments to find pathways in the cells that play a role in leukemia. And they found that taurine receptors appear to be important in some way. So this is an interesting starting point, but not anything like what is suggested in the title.
If I understand the paper right, "the cells feed on taurine" is also just wrong. What they see is that taurine plays a role in regulating glycolysis in those leukemia cells. And of course glycolysis uses glucose as indicated by its name, and taurine looks nothing like glucose.
by Legend2440 on 5/17/25, 4:16 PM
>This process helps cancer cells multiply more rapidly, worsening the disease.
If I’m reading this right, it doesn’t cause cancer, but if you already have cancer it may make it spread faster.
by _xerces_ on 5/17/25, 3:06 PM
The theory is that the taurine added to the drinks is feeding gut bacteria that then produce hydrogen sulfide that damages the intestinal lining.
by ck2 on 5/17/25, 4:42 PM
1000x times more worried about micro-plastics and forever-chemicals now saturating every water source on the planet, that cannot possibly end well for cancer rates and other diseases.
by monster_truck on 5/17/25, 4:29 PM
by dynm on 5/17/25, 4:26 PM
(I welcome corrections to that understanding from experts!)
Personally, this seems far from convincing evidence that taurine in energy drinks is actually causing cancer. But it is suggestive and it seems like one might reasonably avoid taurine out of an "abundance of caution".
by BenFranklin100 on 5/17/25, 4:38 PM
Trump/RFK has proposed slashing the NIH budget by 40%. Further, DOGE and Trump political appointees are deeply embedded within the NIH and are preventing research grants Notice of Award (NoAs) from going out. This will have disastrous consequences for biomedical research.