FAT PEOPLE TO BE CURED WITH THEIR OWN FAT

Scientists have found out how to convert white fat into brown – and so how to make your fat consume itself.

An efficient diet that does not involve neither eating less nor any training – that could be the result of a new concept developed by scientists from the NYU Winthrop Hospital in the US. The idea is to extract a small portion of white fat from the body, cut it to small pieces, and place it in a bioreactor, where it is converted into brown fat, which converts energy deposits into heat. The fat tissue is injected back into the patient, where it will burn energy, so the patient loses weight.

The scientists’ new invention is a bioreactor that subjects white fat to a chemical bath including a speial mix of growth factors and chemical compounds, which stimulate the browning process. The device takes 1-3 weeks to convert white fat into brown. This means that the fat cells change their structure and get more mitochondria, the power stations of cells. The function of the brown fat in the body is best known from babies, whose bodies it keeps warm, but adults also have a little of it. Brown fat is very active and burns large quantities of energy. Only 50-70 g is sufficient to manage 20 % of the body’s energy conversion.

The scientists have tested the method on mice and with human cells outside the body. They aim to develop a simple bioreactor for doctors and clinics.

FAT WILL MAKE YOU THINNER

In a matter of a few weeks, a lump of fat is converted into a fat burner. The secret is in the cells’ mitochondria, which convert energy.

1. DOCTOR EXTRACTS FAT FROM THE PATIENT
White fat cells include large fat deposits, but only a few mitochondria, which convert energy in a cell.

2. CHEMICAL BATH CONVERTS FAT
The fat samples are cut to small pieces, which are subjected to a cocktail of chemicals in a bioreactor, making the white cells turn into brown ones.

3. DOCTOR INJECTS BROWN FAT BACK INTO PATIENT
The cells now include much more mitochondria, so they can convert large quantities of fat into heat. The brown fat is injected back into the patient's fat deposits.

In "Australian Science Illustrated", Australia, issue 68, October, 6, 2018, excerpt p.14. Digitized, adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.