Genetics

Genetic variant prompts cells to store fat, fueling obesity

Obesity is often attributed to a simple equation: People are eating too much and exercising too little. But evidence is growing that at least some of the weight gain that plagues modern humans is predetermined. New research ...

Medical research

Researchers rethink how 'beige' fat cells burn calories

It has been known for decades that low temperatures can trigger specialized fat cells to burn energy to produce heat, but in a new study, UC San Francisco researchers have discovered a new heat-producing pathway in fat cells ...

Medical research

Lack of seipin in testes could cause male infertility

(Medical Xpress)—Jiahao Sha and his colleagues at Nanjing University in China studied humans and mice with genetic abnormalities that prevent them from producing a protein called seipin. Lack of seipin causes body fat to ...

Medical research

Deletion of FAT10 gene reduces body fat, slows down aging in mice

A single gene appears to play a crucial role in coordinating the immune system and metabolism, and deleting the gene in mice reduces body fat and extends lifespan, according to new research by scientists at the Jean Mayer ...

Medical research

It's not just what you eat, but when you eat it

Fat cells store excess energy and signal these levels to the brain. In a new study this week in Nature Medicine, Georgios Paschos PhD, a research associate in the lab of Garret FitzGerald, MD, FRS director of the Institute ...

Medical research

Antibody injection promising for diabetes and obesity

(Medical Xpress) -- Researchers at Genetech Inc. in South San Francisco, California, led by molecular biologist Junichiro Sonoda, have discovered that a single injection of antibodies into obese diabetic mice provided a marked ...

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Adipose tissue

In histology, adipose tissue or body fat or just fat is loose connective tissue composed of adipocytes. Adipose tissue is derived from lipoblasts. Its main role is to store energy in the form of fat, although it also cushions and insulates the body. Obesity or being overweight in humans and most animals does not depend on body weight but on the amount of body fat—specifically, adipose tissue. Two types of adipose tissue exist: white adipose tissue (WAT) and brown adipose tissue (BAT). Adipose tissue also serves as an important endocrine organ by producing hormones such as leptin, resistin and the cytokine TNFα. The formation of adipose tissue appears to be controlled by the adipose gene. Adipose tissue was first identified by the Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner in 1551.\

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