Experiments on mice show that heavy water can inhibit cell mitosis and lead to the degeneration of body tissues that need rapid metabolism. After the mice in the experiment only drank heavy water for a few days, about half of their body fluids became heavy water.
At this time, symptoms began to appear, and tissues that need rapid cell division, such as hair roots and gastric mucosa, first appeared problems. The growth rate of cancer cells that have been growing rapidly has also slowed down, but the degree of slowdown is not enough to make heavy water a feasible treatment.
Extended data:
Use of heavy water:
When using nuclear magnetic resonance analysis, if the solvent is water and the research object is hydrogen, heavy water can be used as the solvent.
Neutron moderator: Some nuclear reactors use heavy water to slow down neutrons and give them a chance to react with uranium. Light water (ordinary water) can also be used as moderator, but because light water will absorb neutrons, light water reactors must use enriched uranium instead of ordinary uranium, otherwise the critical mass will not be reached.
Heavy water reactors can not only use ordinary uranium, but also convert uranium 238 into plutonium that can be used to make nuclear bombs. Nazi Germany, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea all made nuclear fuel in this way.
In order to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, many countries restrict the production and sale of heavy water.
Reference source: Baidu Encyclopedia-Heavy Water