Our body fat may turn out to be a secret weapon in our everlasting fight against cancer.
Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, conducted the research,publishedTuesday inNature Biotechnology.
The findings might point to a new but relatively easy method of tackling cancer, the researchers say.
A close-up of a fat cell taken via transmission electron microscopy.© BSIP/UIG via Getty
Three broad types of fat cells can be found in our bodies: white, brown, and beige.
The cells were also sometimes modified to prefer nutrients that certain cancers are especially hungry to devour.
And the cells even seemed to work when they were placed far away from the actual tumors.
The teams findings are only the start.
But the researchers are encouraged both by the potential and practicality of their experimental therapy.
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