メディエイゴ

Babies get cold quickly. That is why nature has equipped(1) them with a special heating system(2), brown fat cells(3). Their only purpose is to burn fat, thereby(4) generating(5) heat. It only has recently become known that such cells(6) also occur in adults. Scientists at the University of Bonn have now found a new signalling pathway(7) which stimulates(8) the production and function of brown fat cells. They propose using the natural heating system in order to just 'burn' unwanted(9) excess fat. Scientists from Heidelberg, Cologne, Martinsried and the Federal Institute of Drugs and Medical Products (Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte, BfArM)(10) were also involved in(11) the study. The results will be published in the journal Science Signaling on 1st December (doi(12): 10.1126/scisignal.2000511).

Brown adipose tissue(13) is different from white fat pads(14). It contains loads of(15) mitochondria(16), miniature(17) power stations(18) which among other things(19) can 'burn' fat. In doing this, they normally generate a voltage(20) similar to that of a battery, which then provides energy for cellular processes(21). However, the mitochondria of brown fat cells have a short circuit(22). They go full steam ahead(23) all the time(24). The energy released when the fat is broken down(25) is released as heat.

'This is actually what is intended,' Professor Alexander Pfeifer from the Bonn PharmaCentre explains. 'Brown fat acts like a natural heating system.' For example, babies would get cold very quickly without this mechanism. Up to now, it was thought that brown fat only occurred in newborn babies(26) and was lost with age(27).