Fat cells

Fat is best known for being an energy storage system, but it may also play a previously-unknown role in defense against infection. Scientists from the Universities of Queensland and Barcelona have found that cells can use fats to fight off bacteria.

Scientists at the Joslin Diabetes Center have developed a new gene-editing technique that converts a subject's own white fat cells into brown fat cells, which could then be transplanted as a way of treating obesity and diabetes.

Newly published research from scientists at Harvard University has found that mice engineered to lack a certain enzyme showed significant increases in exercise endurance and fat-burning capacity as a result.

Scientists have shown how to activate energy-burning brown fat in mice, which helps shed weight and improves health. Results have been hard to replicate in humans, but a new study has found that we might be targeting the wrong receptor in our bodies.

By triggering receptors on a fast-burning form of fat, researchers were able to give older mice less fat and more muscle, making them as healthy as much younger mice. And better yet, humans seem to have a similar pathway.

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 identified a new molecule that manipulates the metabolic process so that the body burns more fuel than is actually necessary, reducing body fat in mice without requiring changes to their diet.

A comprehensive new study, led by scientists from UC San Francisco, is offering robust new insights into the way a ketogenic diet can influence the gut microbiome, and subsequently result in broader health benefits.

Eating whatever we want and staying slim is many people’s dream come true – and new research may have brought it a step closer. By blocking a gene in certain immune cells, scientists have prevented mice from becoming obese, even on a high-fat diet.

Trans fats are known to be damaging to health, contributing to conditions like cardiovascular disease. Now we may know more about how they cause this damage, as scientists at Tohoku University have found that certain fatty acids speed up cell death.

Triglycerides are a form of fat that circulates through the bloodstream, and high levels can lead to obesity and related illnesses. Now, researchers have found a way to efficiently produce a protein that clears these fats from the bloodstream.

Scientists are unraveling the mechanisms behind obesity piece by piece, with the latest example coming from researchers in Germany who have identified a protein that appears to play a "key role" in human fat metabolism.