<http://schema.org/articleBody>
" Tests performed at the Medical Research Councils National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) have discovered the cells responsible for fat metabolism in the fruit fly. The discovery and exploitation of the cell, similar to those of humans, could significantly boost the invention of new drugs for treating human liver diseases. Up till now, how fruit flies metabolised fat had been unknown, which limited their use in studying liver disease in humans. Dr Alex Gould, one of the team of scientists who discovered the cells, said: &amp;quot;These findings reveal that flies have an equivalent to our liver and that they store, process and burn fat in a way that is strikingly similar to us.&amp;quot; Hopefully the discovery will accelerate the process of testing new chemical compounds to be used as new drugs for treating liver disease, Dr Gould added. Also among the discoveries by the team at NIMR was the fact that fruit flies share more than 20 fat-burning genes with humans. The liver has a number of functions in metabolism, including glycogen storage, plasma protein synthesis and drug detoxification. \u00A9 Adfero Ltd "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/healthy-living/news/a14563/fruit-flies-provide-insight-on-liver-disease/>