I guess my whole point was if they're trying to explain a mechanism, their sample size doesn't generalize to the population; even limiting it to the obese popul

I guess my whole point was if they're trying to explain a mechanism, their sample size doesn't generalize to the population; even limiting it to the obese population. If anything they've shown, in their small cohort, that the hypothesis is worth further study. Having spent a lot of time in academia before moving into biotech, I think this is a pilot study and they're fishing for more research funding. The way those funding mechanisms work, I tend to view manuscripts like this with a critical eye.