The authors have pinpointed a metabolite that turns a bad type of fat into a more favorable one, which raises hoped of new therapies for obesity with minimal side effects.

Carried out at Scripps Research, the new study centers on the difference between white fat and brown fat in the human body, and the metabolic processes that promotes one type over the other. White fat cells store excess energy in pot bellies and love handles, while brown fat cells burns away that stored energy to produce heat, helping address metabolic imbalances that can lead to conditions like obesity and diabetes.