In a major breakthrough, scientists have identified a rather elusive protein involved in the production of ‘good’ fat, brown fat, and found it can even boost the formation of these cells in white fat. Understanding how to ‘switch on’ the creation of this type of energy-burning cell opens the door to novel weight-loss treatments that have eluded researchers to date. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is essential for producing heat from blood sugar and fat molecules, through a process called thermogenesis. It also requires a lot of energy (or calories) to fuel this. Unfortunately, by the time we reach adulthood, most...