Receptor for tasting fat identified in humans

Why do we like fatty foods so much? We can blame our taste buds. In the first study to identify a human receptor that can taste fat, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report that our tongues recognize and have an affinity for fat and that variations in a gene can make people more or less sensitive to the taste of fat in foods.

Fat in the liver — not the belly — is a better marker for disease risk

New findings from nutrition researchers at the School of Medicine suggest that it’s not whether body fat is stored in the belly that affects metabolic risk factors for diabetes, high blood triglycerides and cardiovascular disease, but whether it collects in the liver. They report online in the journal PNAS Early Edition that when fat collects in the liver, people experience serious metabolic problems such as insulin resistance, which affects the body’s ability to metabolize sugar.

Early-stage diabetic heart disease mimicked in mouse hearts

The brighter signal over the transgenic heart indicates fat uptake and metabolism are greatly increased.Heart disease is the leading cause of death among the more than 13 million diabetics in the United States. Researchers at the School of Medicine have found that in mice whose heart muscles take up high amounts of fat, the heart fills abnormally after each contraction, a condition that is consistent with the first stage of heart dysfunction in human diabetics.

Early-stage diabetic heart disease mimicked in mouse hearts

The brighter signal over the transgenic heart indicates fat uptake and metabolism are greatly increased.Heart disease is the leading cause of death among the more than 13 million diabetics in the United States. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that in mice whose heart muscles take up high amounts of fat, the heart fills abnormally after each contraction, a condition that is consistent with the first stage of heart dysfunction in human diabetics.