Brown and beige adipocytes are thermogenic fat cells that are highly specialized in dissipating chemical energy in the form of heat. There is great hope that these cells can be targeted ...

Sedentary living and the consumption of calorie-dense food has precipitated a steep rise in obesity throughout the developed world. This is particularly alarming because of the vast array of ...

But research has found a third type of fat cells, called beige or “brite” (brown in white) fat cells. These cells act like brown fat cells but are found in similar areas as white fat cells.

Ande's team also found Id1 directly suppresses Ebf2, another transcription factor found in high levels in brown fat that can help convert white fat to healthier beige. Conversely, they showed that ...

Image by Liang Li, Feldman Lab Many mammals have three “shades” of fat cells: white, brown and beige. White fat serves as energy reserves for the body, while brown fat cells burn energy to release ...

While white fat does not share this ability, it can play a role in burning calories when it takes on some brown fat characteristics. The tissue created in this process is called beige fat.