Cancer cells rely heavily on glycolysis, but how they respond when glucose is reintroduced after acute starvation is not well understood. Using fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy, students tracked metabolic changes in HeLa cells and found a rapid shift toward glycolysis within 20 minutes of glucose reintroduction, followed by heterogeneous recovery toward oxidative phosphorylation. These results highlight metabolic flexibility and variability in cancer cells, offering insights relevant to treatment resistance and therapeutic design.
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