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Macrophage immune cells in the skin can capture pigments from tattoos and hold them in place, causing tattoos to persist even after new macrophages move in to deal with the contaminants:
[...] That's what French scientists observed from studying tatted mice. In their model of tattoo persistence [open, DOI: 10.1084/jem.20171608] [DX], published Tuesday in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, macrophages — immune cells that ingest foreign or unhealthy debris in the body — play a starring role. Targeting these cells, the authors suggested, might help improve tattoo removal procedures for people.
As a tattoo is given, macrophages descend to capture invading ink. Probably because the ink granules are too bulky for the microscopic Pac-Mans to break down, they hold onto the pigment, your body art shining through their bellies.
With time, these original macrophages die and release their pigments, which get vacuumed up by new macrophages, starting the cycle over, said Sandrine Henri, a researcher at the Immunology Center of Marseille-Luminy who led the study with her colleague Bernard Malissen.
[...] Jared Jagdeo, a dermatologist at the University of California, Davis, has also wondered whether macrophages impede tattoo removal by reabsorbing lasered ink particles. Since 2014, he has performed a laser removal procedure that uses anti-inflammatory ointment to suppress macrophages. "It makes a difference," he said, noting that he often removes tattoos in 10 or fewer treatments [instead of 20].
(Score: 3, Interesting) by FatPhil on Tuesday March 13 2018, @08:55AM (5 children)
Tattoos may sometimes be unwise - to tattoo a marginal political belief, or association with some marginal group, on your forehead, at a young age may hinder your job prospects, and your social acceptance at a later age. It may get you into a fight if you enter the wrong bar (I'm thinking M.C. tats, for example). I agree that anyone who does that, and who then complains about rejection, could be labelled an "idiot". Those that get a partner's name tattooed across or under a heart motif are statistically going to be with that tattoo longer than they are with that partner too, which does show a naivete and a lack of foresight. But if they're prepared to carry them around, like medals from successful missions, into later battles, then so be it. But one has to ask what kind of partner considers posession of a stamp from a previous partnership to be superior to lack of posession of same. (Though some "I stole him from X" pride might exist.)
However, tattoos can be artistic, and can be as much an augmentation of ones appearance as any of the other ways of decorating oneself, albeit in permanent form. They can be gauche, but they can also be tasteful, as can all other ways that humans visually present themselves to each other. Everyone knows they'll fade, they're not that naive. Those who believe a small amount of imagary says something about who they are, and want to say that about themselves, should not be called idiots for actually getting the device that they think says what they want to say about themselves. You're attempting to stamp out a form of self-expression. Like all communication, interpretation is in the mind of the recipient, and if you think all tattoos say "idiot", that's you're right, but that doesn't make you right. Of course, if they think a swallow diving down into their cleavage says "I'm a free spirit, and I'm also sensual", that's their right too, even if many people will interpret it as "I'm a slapper". Fuck knows what my went-out-of-fashion-in-the-early-70s haircut (erm, what's the word "cut" doing in that compound word? No scissors have encountered this for 30 years) says to most people who see it. I have the right to not care about those who judge such things negatively. I extend that right to tattoo bearers, them doing so doesn't make them all idiots.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 13 2018, @09:11AM (4 children)
I said:
You can't even be arsed to read the whole comment? I guess one out of three isn't too bad. Better than usual for you I'm guessing.
Oh, and fuck you!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 13 2018, @11:42AM (3 children)
i have a tatoo, a seal shamelessly stolen from FMA to lock depression away. 100% placebo based like a psychoterapy but cheaper and fuck it worked after one session and 15y later still works
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday March 13 2018, @02:20PM (2 children)
You got a Fullmetal Alchemist tattoo in the first year of the anime airing?
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 13 2018, @04:48PM (1 child)
I liked the design, I dont care about FMA but that design struck a cord deep in me
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 13 2018, @04:53PM
well I still like it now and for as long as my demons stay binded inside the seal and dont come back to torment me, I will like it