Infrared images indicate the much warmer temperatures of a normal mouse (left) compared to a mouse unable to make ERR gamma (right). Credit: Salk Institute
A protein found in brown fat, but not typical white fat, is key to how the energy-burning brown fat cells function. While most fat cells in the human body store energy, everyone has a small subset of brown fat cells that do the opposite – burn energy and generate heat. Now, Salk researchers have discovered how the molecule ERRγ gives this “healthier” brown fat its energy-expending identity, making those cells ready to warm you up when you step into the cold, and potentially offering a new therapeutic target for diseases related to obesity.
“This not only advances our understanding of how the body responds to cold, but could lead to new...
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