h a l f b a k e r yA few slices short of a loaf.
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Make a virus that kills only white fat cells, and can't survive long.
Wikipedia: Virotherapy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virotherapy
Experimental; currently used to fight cancer. [jutta, Oct 01 2008]
[link]
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sorry, "viral fat removal" doesn't have quite the same ring. |
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when the fat cell died, what would
happen to the fat inside it? |
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I guess the virus eats the fat cells, and then comes out the rear end. |
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Interesting idea. Physiologically, I'm not
sure what would happen. Normally,
when you gain weight, most of it is due
to fat cells swelling, not becoming more
numerous. So, if you kill some of them
off, you're not quite reversing the
normal fattening process. |
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Might work, though. Like bung, I have
concerns about what happens to the
fats released. If you kill lots of cells at
once, you'll have a huge load of lipid
released into the bloodstream at once,
which might be a problem: the body
has no way to excrete it easily. If you
kill the cells gradually, then the slow
trickle of released fat is likely to be
taken up by the remaining fat cells, or
wind up somewhere else in the body. |
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Sure the extra fat would be re-absorbed, but each fat cell can only get so big. Pretty soon the body would become incapable of storing more fat. |
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''As we learn more about the genesis of brown fat cells and the genes governing them, we may be able to target those genes with drugs or other agents to create powerful tools to fight obesity,'' ~ Dr. C. Ronald Kahn. |
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Brown fat burns the bodies fat reserves to create heat. They are largely absent from the adult human. The above quote is from a group that are trying to turn the brown fat cells back on, chemically, or with other agents. Viruses, and bacteria, can be used to deliver to target areas. Not a bad thought, but you may find some resistance, most notably from your own body. |
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So that leaves necrotising fasciitis (to kill the cells) + HIV (to mask the signals for the immuno system) = certain death. Perhaps the brand name can be Mortephin? |
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There may also be a problem with distribution. What if all the released fat comes from your left butt cheek? |
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