Beige fat

Scientists in China have identified a new mechanism by which the immune system boosts the production of fat in one of its favorable forms, with experiments demonstrating how it can be leveraged to prevent obesity and diabetes in susceptible mice.

Much research into obesity of late has focused on ways they body might be made to produce more brown fat rather than white as a way of fighting weight gain, and scientists have now made a key advance in this area.

In 2012, researchers opened up a promising new avenue in the pursuit of advanced treatments for obesity with the discovery of "beige fat." A study has now uncovered an immune cell that activates this form of fat in mice.

Researchers have found that blocking the uptake of a specific hormone prompts the burning of stores of beige fat in mice. The researchers say this regulatory mechanism provides a new target for the development of drugs that combat obesity by boosting the burning of stored fat in the human body.