New Atlas

Medical Audio available

First human trial into fecal transplants for obesity delivers mixed results

Rich Haridy May 9, 2019

Researchers are reporting mixed results from the first human trial investigating the effects of fecal transplantation in obese patients. Initial reports suggest the treatment failed to induce weight loss or changes in a key satiety hormone.

Despite no weight loss noted during the treatment period, a study into FMT to treat obesity ...

Medical Audio available

Inflatable weight-loss capsule is activated by a magnet

Ben Coxworth April 24, 2019

For several years now, obese people have been able to lose weight by swallowing capsules that inflate within the stomach, providing a sense of fullness. While such capsules have had to be inflated via a catheter fed down the throat, scientists have now created one that's activated magnetically.

Prof. Louis Phee (left) and Prof. Lawrence Ho, with the prototype EndoPil

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Anti-obesity genetic variant discovery paves way for new weight-loss drugs

Rich Haridy April 22, 2019

A study has homed in on a number of specific variants in a single gene that can help people either lose or gain weight. The research revealed that some naturally-occurring variants can offer protection against obesity, and may lead to new weight-loss drugs that mimic this genetic variation.

Examining genetic data from half a million people revealed several specific genetic variants associated with lower ...

Medical Audio available

Scientists discover a brain molecule connecting anxiety to weight loss

Nick Lavars January 20, 2019

Anxiety and fat-burning may seem technically unrelated so far as bodily functions go, but scientists have found a certain molecule that appears to connect one with the other and believe that this shared mechanism may open up new pathways for drug development.

Scientists have discovered a key brain molecule that has a role in both anxiety and weight ...

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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 ...

Health & Wellbeing Audio available

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 ...

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 ...

Health & Wellbeing

Early study into 16:8 intermittent fasting suggests weight loss benefits

Rich Haridy June 19, 2018

New research from the University of Illinois at Chicago has conducted the first study into a form of time-restricted eating known as the 16:8 diet and has found it could be an effective form of weight loss, comparable to other types of intermittent fasting.

One of the first studies into the effects of a 16:8 fasting diet on obese subjects ...

Biology

A protein activated by nicotine provides insight into how fat cells burn energy

Rich Haridy May 28, 2018

Weight gain has often been noted as a side effect of quitting smoking, and research has found that nicotine can function as an appetite suppressant. A study has now uncovered a novel mechanism showing how nicotine directly activates a protein that signals a type of fat cell to start burning energy.

Beige fat cells have been found to be activated into an energy-burning phase by a protein ...