In 1922, a German physician and research biologist discovered that the electrolyte composition of malignant tumors is different than in other tissues. He discovered that every component electrolyte ion found in normal cells increased in concentration in malignant tumors. Other researchers' results, in conducting the same experiments at a later date, have proven the scientific accuracy of this discovery. At the time of the original research, and for a long time after this, the results were considered fascinating but without any kind of practical use. Back in those days the direct correlation between the cell division rate and the increase in the electrolyte composition was not recognized.

With advancing technology, a new generation of researchers started to study electrolyte concentration of cancerous tissues, at the atomic level. These experiments shed light on other new surprises. It became clear that the concentration of Na+ ions increases the most among the many ionic components in the cancerous tissues and, furthermore, that this increase is 350 - 500% above normal levels.

While other researchers concluded that there is no difference in cellular ion concentration between healthy, benign or malignant cells, the truth is that the rate of cell division between these different states is significantly different, and thus differences would be present at some level of differentiation.