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by Almost everyone has battle with a little bulge in their figure. Regardless of the mechanism chosen to slim down, the basic goal has always been to lose the fat. New research has made a discovery that may explain why it seems so hard to lose that fat - it's permanent! Essentially, the quantity of fat cells for a given person is fixed. While the cells themselves do die off, they are replaced by an identical number of new fat cells. Even after patients undergo liposuction, the fat cells will grow back to their original number. The appearance of bulge, therefore, is not a function of having too many fat cells but a function of how full those fat cells are. Such a discovery has led researchers to seek a way to alter the number of available fat cells.
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It may be old news also, but I thought the discussion on the dating of cells (in the linked article) was really interesting. In a nutshell, doctors take advantage of the Carbon spike in the atmosphere (and, consequently, plants and animals) caused by above-ground nuke testing in the 50s to determine the age of cells.
I mean, it's obvious the dudes standing in the bunkers watching the explosions were going to feel some effects, but I never suspected it would be evident in my fat cells 50 years later.
It really is a small planet...
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Old News? by gnifyus :: NR7 :: 2 days ago
This seems to be old news re-vamped with new research. I can remember my mother (who was a nurse) telling me this same thing in the 1970's.