A small molecule known as 125B11 but also called Fatostatin and reportedly having both anti-fat and anti-cancer abilities is also a literal turnoff for fat-making genes, according to a new report in the journal Chemistry and Biology. 

The chemical blocks transcription factor known SREBP, a master controller of fat synthesis.   That action in mice that are genetically prone to obesity causes the animals to become leaner. It also lowers the amount of fat in their livers, along with their blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Fatostatin or its analogs may also serve a tool for gaining further insights into the regulation of SREBP and fat metabolism

If you studied the basics of human anatomy, you probably know that females are born with their entire lifetime's supply of eggs and once they're gone, they're gone.    New findings by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center say that is not always true.

The good news; during starvation, ovulation stops and when normal food conditions resume, so do the eggs, basically turning back the reproductive clock.

The bad news; it only works in in nematode worms.

Informed consent is tricky business because there are disagreements about what informed consent can mean outside the country of the company conducting the trial and people will grant a lot of consent if they believe a treatment can help them, which can lead to exploitation.

One item that is not a topic of heavy debate is financial interest disclosures.  Everyone seems to agree they are important but there are no comprehensive guidelines governing it.

Circadian rhythms are 24-hour cycles in various biological processes like core body temperature, melatonin synthesis and sleep–wake behavior.   They are synchronized most strongly by the light–dark cycle in the environment.

Bright light is known to increase alertness at night, but it has never been completely clear whether this light-induced alertness can arise from neural pathways other than those involved in the circadian system.

Research described in the BMC Neuroscience (open access!) says the circadian system is not the only pathway involved in determining alertness at night. showed that red light, which does not stimulate the circadian system, is just as effective at increasing night-time alertness as blue light, which does.

Obesity has increased dramatically in the last two decades, yet so have awareness campaigns saying appearance does not matter.    The cultural miasma is hardest on its youngest members and even kids aged 10 and 11 are concerned about their image, according to new research.  

A study of 4254 Canadian schoolchildren has shown a direct association between Body Mass Index (BMI) and satisfaction with their body shape. The research in BMC Public Health, says girls are happiest when thinnest but boys have it even worse - they are unhappy when they are too skinny or too fat.

Researchers from NIST and the University of Maryland have found what they say is a simple method of sandwiching organic molecules between silicon and metal, two materials fundamental to electronic components - perhaps overcoming one of the principal obstacles in creating switches made from individual molecules, the ultimate in miniaturization for the electronics industry.