Intermittent food intake activates a ‘GPS gene’ in liver cells, thus completing the development of the liver after birth

In mammals, the liver detects the body’s energy demand at any given moment and mobilizes nutrient reserves to meet it. It is a vital function that is subdivided into multiple tasks: from releasing glucose into the blood when the hormone insulin alerts about a need for energy, to synthesizing essential fats or proteins. These tasks fall to the hepatic cells, the hepatocytes, which take care of one or the other depending on their spatial position in the liver.