New research has unlocked insights into how “good fat” tissue could potentially be harnessed to combat obesity and remove glucose from the blood, helping to control diabetes. Published in Science Advances, the work is a collaboration between researchers with the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and University of Cambridge, Free University of Brussels and University of East Anglia.
Using the Krios G3i, a cryogenic electron microscope at the Penn Singh Center for Nanotechnology researchers were able to view mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1)—a protein which allows fat tissue to burn off calories as heat—in atomic detail for the first time. This work uncovered new insights into how this protein’s activity in brown fat cells could potentially be harnessed for weight loss.
