‘Exercise pill’ switches on gene that tells cells to burn fat

May 9, 2007 | Source: KurzweilAI

By giving ordinary adult mice a drug — a synthetic designed to mimic fat — Salk Institute scientist Dr. Ronald M. Evans is now able to chemically switch on PPAR-d, the master regulator that controls the ability of cells to burn fat.

Even when the mice are not active, turning on the chemical switch activates the same fat-burning process that occurs during exercise. The resulting shift in energy balance (calories in, calories burned) makes the mice resistant to weight gain on a high fat diet.