Worm gene could be key to developing obesity treatment
The team has discovered a gene that triggers a feeling of fullness, as well as the need to sleep after eating. A similar gene is found in people, opening up the potential to develop a drug that could help control obesity by reducing appetite and increasing the desire for exercise. The team, led by Associate Professor Roger Pocock at the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute and his colleagues at the University of Copenhagan, published their results today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , a prestigious US journal. Associate Professor Pocock and his team discovered a gene, encoding a transcription factor called ETS-5, which controls signals from the brain to the intestines. Associate Professor Pocock explained that when the intestine had stored enough fat, the brain would receive the message to stop moving, effectively putting the worm to sleep. "When animals are malnourished they seek out food by roaming their environment. When they're well fed...