By crystalizing a serotonin receptor bound to several common compounds, researchers have discovered how slightly different drugs can cause severe side effects or none at all. The findings should accelerate the design of safer and more effective medications for a variety of conditions. “Solving the crystal structures of these serotoninContinue Reading
A new study with rats may help explain why some people can resist the rustle of a chip bag or the smell of pizza and others can’t. The study included rats that had been specially bred for a tendency to become obese, and rats from a line with normalContinue Reading
Until now, many scientists believed a single protein acted as a gatekeeper for tasting sugary, bitter, and savory flavors. A new study challenges this thinking. Remove the protein TRPM5 from a person’s taste cells, and they would no longer be able to identify sweet, bitter, or savory (also called umami)Continue Reading
When trying to help a child lose weight, involving a parent in treatment makes the entire family healthier, a new study shows. Researchers tested a family-based treatment that included weekly meetings over a period of several months. Parents learned how to engineer a home environment that supported healthy eatingContinue Reading
People who structure their own systematic rules for eating—and stick to them regardless of feelings of hunger and fullness—are markedly better at keeping weight off compared to those who follow special diets or eat for pleasure and satiety, a small study suggests. “We see that people who are good atContinue Reading
One diet may not suit everybody, new research suggests. “Dietary advice, whether it comes from the United States government or some other organization, tends to be based on the theory that there is going to be one diet that will help everyone,” says David Threadgill, with the Texas A&MContinue Reading
Cinnamaldehyde, an essential oil that gives cinnamon its flavor, may improve metabolic health, researchers report. The ingredient induces fat cells, or adipocytes, to start burning energy through a process called thermogenesis, the research finds. Scientists had previously observed that cinnamaldehyde appeared to protect mice against obesity and hyperglycemia. But theContinue Reading
A lot of people could do well with losing some weight. In fact, the number of these people is getting increasingly alarming – as it rises really fast, especially in the western, developed world. Obesity is considered as one of the so called “diseases of affluence”, meaning that the peopleContinue Reading
Ingeborg Grønning, a researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has been studying a diary from an online weight loss forum that is open to comments from other weight loss forum participants. Certain posts receive more responses than others, she has found. Grønning chose to analyse theContinue Reading
190 million Americans share the luxuries of human life with their pets. Giving dogs and cats a place in human homes, beds and–sometimes even, their wills–comes with the family member package. Amongst these shared human-pet comforts is the unique luxury to overeat. As a result, the most common form ofContinue Reading