A Fattening Gene
If you consume too much high-energy and high-fat foods over a long tim period, it will lead to gain weight. Looking into the science of this statement lies the complex regulation of lipid metabolism. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim have now discovered that the gene Sirt7 plays a major role in energy metabolism.
The scientists made tests on mice, who lack a sirtuin (a protein with wide-ranging biological functions) known as Sirt7. These mice were fed high-fat pellets for a month, who gained a significant less amount of weight compared to the control mice. They had also maintained close to their normal weight. It was concluded that the animals who lacked Sirt7 were able to digest and process the extra energy from the pellets better and therefore did not build up any extra fat.
The researchers hope that their study will provide the bases for new therapeutic approaches. The long-term objective is the development of a drug that would reduce the efficiency of lipid metabolism. This would help avoid the possibility of becoming overweight.
http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2014/04/30/a_fattening_gene.html
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I think this is a very important topic. By 2000, about 30% of adults in America were obese, and the rates go up every year. With this new research and the discovery scientists may be able to bring down obesity rates. Doctors and scientists hope to find therapeutic remedies to help the weight gain, which would mean to lessen the fat deposits. With this information, they might be able to slow down weight gain by a percent, but there is still a lot to find out about this gene and all that it does.
ReplyDeleteHere is a link to a page of obesity facts: http://www.cdc.gov/pdf/facts_about_obesity_in_the_united_states.pdf