• This week on the Nature Podcast

    This week, we discover how brown fat cells could be a cure for obesity, find out why 'magic' gold clusters make good catalysts, meet some self-sacrificing bacteria, and we report on Sci Foo Camp - Nature's annual 'unconference'

    Listen | Subscribe | About

  • Obesity: Switching fat to lean

    Fat is more related to muscle than we realise, according to research published in Nature this week. In two related studies Bruce Spiegelman et al and Yu-Hua Tseng et al identify the factors that regulate fat formation. The research could help to develop new therapies to tackle obesity. We also talk to the two authors in the Nature Podcast this week.

    In a related News and Views article, Barbara Cannon comments that the research could "take us a step closer to the ultimate goal of promoting the brown fat lineage as a potential way of counteracting obesity".

  • NatureJobs

    Feature

    Tough choices: How useful are graduate programme ranking schemes?

    Prospects

    First rate: Seeking a new kind of ranking.

  • Innovation

    In the third of Nature's monthly commentary series on science innovation, David Guston explains how policy can shape and steer the mysterious and unpredictable innovation process. Join in the discussion of this, a linked editorial, and the previous two innovation commentaries on Nature Network.

    Image: Belle Mellor

Extra navigation

Get all the latest news at

nature news

ADVERTISEMENT