These days it seems that we are always hearing about the latest ‘wonder pill’ that will help you to get fit – often with very little science to back it up. Well, this time things are a little different. Scientists at the Salk Institute in California have discovered a new pathway used by the body during exercise and are able to recreate its effects in mice by simply giving them a pill. The mice were able to run for a much longer period of time and gained less weight! I spoke to senior researcher Weiwei Fan to find out how it all works…

• The process involves a protein called PPL-delta which during exercise turns up the genes that burn fat and turns down the genes that burn sugar.
• Mice that were given a chemical to activate the PPL-delta protein over an 8-week period could run for about 270 minutes, whereas mice that were not on the drug could only run for about 160 minutes.
• The activation of the protein not only increases endurance, but by burning fat instead of glucose it can also result in weight loss, making it a possible treatment for type 2 diabetes, obesity and fatty liver disease.
• On a high-fat diet, the mice with the drug gained 50% less weight than those without, with the weight loss occurring almost entirely in fat rather than muscle.
• The ultimate goal is to test the findings in humans once the current negative side effects of the drug are eliminated.

You can listen to the full interview for the Naked Scientists here.