Boric acid, the same boron compound plants need in tiny amounts, damaged human melanoma cells in a lab dish by stressing them with reactive oxygen molecules and altering a key growth-signaling pathway. It's early cell-culture work, so it says nothing yet about treating cancer or about garden use.
1
Boric acid reduced the viability of MALME-3M human melanoma cells in culture.
2
Treatment was associated with oxidative stress, meaning a buildup of reactive oxygen molecules.
3
Boric acid changed Wnt signaling, a pathway that regulates cell growth and division.
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