Hai Yan, MD, PhD (Damon Runyon Scholar’05-‘07) of Duke University Medical Center, Durham, and colleagues, reported that levels of specific metabolites (products of metabolism) were altered by up to 50-fold in brain tumor cells containing mutations in the genes IDH1 and IDH2. Previous studies had identified these genetic mutations in brain tumors; this research links IDH gene mutation to changes in cancer cell metabolism. These findings suggest that IDH mutation could act as a biomarker for diagnosis and could also lead to new improved types of cancer therapeutics. The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.