Researchers at the University of California at San Diego have discovered that a molecule in both meat and dairy products can make cancer more aggressive. The molecule, called N-glycolylneuraminic acid, or Neu5Gc for short, is a sugar molecule that cows produce but that humans do not. It can, however, be incorporated into human tissues through the ingestion of meat or dairy products. When that happens, the human body develops an immune response to it that can lead to chronic inflammation. Researchers figured that the Neu5Gc molecule must somehow benefit tumors, so they tested it. Sure enough, half of the experiment's mice with tumors were introduced to the anti-Neu5Gc antibodies the human body produces, and developed far more aggressive cancer than the mice without.