A molecule found in turmeric, the spice that gives curry its bright yellow colour, can kill esophageal cancer cells in the lab, and might make for a powerful anti-cancer treatment. Scientists at the Cork Cancer Research Center in Ireland treated the cells with curcumin, a chemical found in turmeric, and found they started to kill cancer cells within 24 hours. The cells began to digest themselves, too. It isn’t the first study to suggest curcumin could be a powerful cancer-fighting agent; others have found it can suppress tumors, and that people who eat lots of curry might be less prone to cancer (once ingested, however, curcumin loses its cancer-fighting abilities). Esophageal cancers kill more than half a million people worldwide each year.