They Can, You Can...

[_subgenius]

...RCAN1 Can!

Researchers at Flinders University in Australia say they found that when a single gene called RCAN1 was removed in mice, the rodents were able to eat a high fat diet without gaining weight. This held true even when the animals got especially gluttonous and gorged on fatty chow.

“We looked at a variety of different diets with various timespans from eight weeks up to six months, and in every case we saw health improvements in the absence of the RCAN1 gene,” said Professor Damien Keating, who led the study
...
“We know a lot of people struggle to lose weight or even control their weight for a number of different reasons. The findings in this study could mean developing a pill which would target the function of RCAN1 and may result in weight loss,” Keating says.

It’s worth mentioning, however, that experimental results in rodents do not always carry over to humans.

But if the effect of blocking RCAN1 does translate to people, it could be used to convert white fat, which accumulates in the body and can lead to health problems, into healthier brown fat that can more readily be burned for energy.
...
But before we get ahead of ourselves and start deep frying all our meals, there’s still lots more research and tests to be done. Stay tuned.

http://flip.it/4k1-Yz

Will this be an example of better living through science?

[_EAllusion]

This is also a gene where over-expression is potentially implicated in Alzheimer's disease. It's an antagonist for a particular kind of signaling pathway, so shutting it down probably would have some unintended side-effects before we start crispring ourselves.

[_subgenius]

This is also a gene where over-expression is implicated in Alzheimer's disease. It's an antagonist for a particular kind of signaling pathway, so shutting it down probably would have some unintended side-effects before we start crispring ourselves.

Better to look good than feel good