Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, University of Lund other research news

Three reports in the New England Journal of Medicine suggest a link between obesity, Type II diabetes, and a mutated gene coding for an adrenalin receptor.

The beta 3 receptor is abundant in the brown fat that lines the great vessels in the thorax and abdomen, and its mutation probably decreases the ability to burn excess fat to generate heat. Decreased function of the receptor in white adipose tissue also could cause retention of lipids in fat cells, possibly an important contributor to visceral obesity. ...