As people get older, their waistline often gets bigger, even when their weight does not change. This belly fat can cause serious health problems, such as diabetes and heart disease. Researchers at City of Hope have found a new type of stem cellstem cell/ˈstem ˌsel/L2干细胞a special type of cell that can develop into many different kinds of cells in the body that appears during agingaging/ˈeɪ.dʒɪŋ/L2变老的过程the process of becoming older. This cell helps the body make more fat cells, especially around the belly.
The scientists studied mice and human cells. They transplantedtransplanted/trænsˈplæn.tɪd/L2移植的moved from one person, animal, or place to another older stem cells into young mice, and these cells produced many new fat cells. When they transplanted young stem cells into older mice, they produced few fat cellscellsL1细胞cells. This shows that the ability to make fat is built into the older cells themselves.
People often lose muscle and gain body fat as they age, even when their body weight remains the same, said Dr. Qiong Wang. The researchers also found similar cells in human tissuetissue/ˈtɪʃ.uː/L2组织（生物）a group of similar cells that work together to do a specific job in the body. This discoverydiscovery/dɪˈskʌvəri/L1发现finding something for the first time could lead to new treatments for belly fat in the future. More studies are needed to confirm these results. However, the finding gives scientists a promising target for anti-obesityanti-obesity/ˌæn.ti.oʊˈbiː.sə.ti/L2抗肥胖的something that helps prevent or reduce being very overweight therapies.
