A new battery starves cancer cells of oxygen in mice

The device gives treatments for tumors a boost in lab animals

An SEM image of breast cancer cells.

Solid tumors, such as those formed in breast cancer (SEM image of breast cancer cells shown), can be low-oxygen environments. A new battery wraps around tumors and further deprives them of oxygen.

STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images

It’s not great when a person sucks all the oxygen out of a room.