The Best Diet? South Beach? Atkins? DNA?

New research has found a gene in mice that when blocked can prevent mice from getting obese no matter how fat-rich the diet they consume may be. The gene, appropriately named IKKE, produces a protein kinase. Protein kinases are enzymes that effectively turn other proteins on or off. The proteins that are turned on and off in turn apparently affect other genes that control metabolism. Normally the mice consume a high-fat diet and at some point a metabolic slow down goes into effect that switches the body to convert the ingested fat into stores of fat. In the IKKE blocked mice, that switch never happens and the metabolism speeds up to burn the fat. The researchers hope that this discovery could lead to obesity and diabetes treatments if the same mechanism operates in humans.