The Chemical Cause of Fat

"There is a new and growing scientific explanation for obesityand obesity-related disorders, like cardiovascular disease, hypertension and type 2 diabetes, which does not involve living in a couch-potato culture and stuffing yourself with more calories than you can burn.
Dr. Bruce Blumberg, Professor for the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UC Irvine, and his colleagues have determined thatobesogens, especially those that are environmental contaminants, are a possible explanation for the worldwide epidemic...

Connie Chow, a fourth-year biological sciences major, and Tiffany Kieu, a fourth-year developmental and cell biology major, are the only undergraduates currently working on the project. Their work is in submission to be reviewed for publication in a journal...

Blumberg and his colleagues have done a previous study showing that pregnant mice treated with TBT will have pup that become fatter when they grow up. Kieu assisted her post-doctoral supervisor, Severine Kirchner, with examining how prenatal exposure to TBT in the womb can later effect the development and function of adipose tissue in young mice. In this research, Kieu contributed most extensively to the RNA analysis"