New Atlas

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Incredible battery-free implant battles obesity by suppressing appetite

Rich Haridy December 17, 2018

A remarkable new implantable device developed by engineers at University of Wisconsin–Madison promises a new way to battle obesity. By gently stimulating a nerve that links the stomach to the brain, the device tricks your brain into thinking you're full.

Graduate student Guang Yao (left) and Xudong Wang (right) hold a small implantable device that helped ...

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New CRISPR technique could prevent obesity without cutting or editing a genome

Rich Haridy December 13, 2018

An exciting new study has demonstrated how a new kind of CRISPR technique can increase the expression of certain genes, instead of the more traditional approach of cutting or editing DNA. The method was tested in mice, targeting genes associated with hunger, and stopped the animals becoming obese.

A new technique called CRISPRa can increase the expression of a single gene without cutting or ...

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Fat-trapping clay may form part of a treatment for obesity

Ben Coxworth December 13, 2018

While dieting and exercise certainly help people to lose weight, there are some cases where those approaches just aren't enough on their own. There could now be a new source of hope, however, as scientists have discovered that clay may cause ingested fat to pass right through the body.

Grains of arcillite clay, which is a calcined form of the montmorillonite used in the study

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Gene-silencing drug may allow for exercise-free, dieting-free weight loss

Ben Coxworth December 4, 2018

For some obese people, the amount of exercise or dieting necessary to address their condition is just too extreme to maintain. There may be hope on the horizon, however, as scientists are working toward a drug that would allow patients to lose weight without exercising or making any diet changes.

Future medications may be able to treat obesity by silencing a gene known as RCAN1 (Regulator ...

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Anti-obesity molecule promises to help fat cells burn more energy

Rich Haridy November 27, 2018

A new study from researchers at the University of Cambridge has excitingly discovered a blood-based molecule that can both increase the amount of brown fat in the body and activate its calorie-burning processes.

A molecule has been discovered that helps convert inactive white fat into active brown fat and ...

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How can obesity both fuel tumor growth and help new immunotherapy drugs work better?

Rich Haridy November 12, 2018

Two studies have provided new insights into the relationship between obesity and cancer. The research reveals fascinatingly paradoxical effects, suggesting obesity can suppress our immune responses to enhance tumor growth, but also improve the efficacy of a new kind of cancer-killing immunotherapy.

The same obesity-driven process that speeds up cancer growth may also help improve the efficacy of ...

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Unexpected discovery reveals we burn more calories in the afternoon than in the morning

Rich Haridy November 11, 2018

A new study has revealed that our bodies burn calories at different rates throughout the day. The research, evaluating energy expenditure during resting states, suggests our circadian clock plays a major part in regulating metabolism.

A new study has found around a 10 percent difference in resting energy expenditure between early ...

Medical

Cancer researchers unexpectedly discover natural anti-obesity protein

Rich Haridy October 29, 2018

While investigating a protein whose production is known to be elevated in a wide range of cancers, a team of researchers has inadvertently discovered a powerful new metabolic regulator that in early mouse experiments has reduced the animal's fat levels by a third.

Mice administered a natural protein were found to lose over one third of their fat with ...

Medical

A “biochemical cigarette”: How smoking inspired a potential new anti-obesity treatment

Rich Haridy October 23, 2018

An international team of researchers has harnessed two known metabolic modulators, tobacco smoking and exposure to cold, to create a potential anti-obesity treatment that in early mouse experiments has successfully lowered body weight and corrected glucose intolerance.

A new proposed anti-obesity treatment incorporates the appetite-suppressing element of nicotine with the energy-burning effects of ...

Health & Wellbeing

Compound combats constant hunger by reactivating satiety centers

Darren Quick September 5, 2018

Researchers at Helmholtz Zentrum München have found that Celastrol, a plant-derived substance used in traditional Chinese medicine, shows potential for combating obesity by activating centers in the brain responsible for producing feelings of fullness.

Researchers have found that a chemical compound used in traditional Chinese medicine can activate the centers ...