The discovery, from the Kralli lab, is important to medical researchers because the brown fat calorie-burning process naturally stimulates weight loss and may also protect against diabetes.
The work by investigators Vijay Reddy and Glen Nemerow solves the mystery of previously incompatible results and points to new avenues for drug development and gene therapy.
The research, led by biologist Michael Conkright, paves the way to new cancer treatments.
The project will be led by Associate Professor Kristin Baldwin and will involve a collaboration with the TSRI Mouse Genetics Core, led by Sergey Kupriyanov.