Obesity: Leptin Receptor Weighs In

The biggest news in obesity research over the past year has been “the fat gene”: the gene for leptin, a protein that controls body weight in mice. And 1996 is starting off with news that may be just as big. Last week, a research team reported they have cloned DNA that encodes two related receptors that bind the leptin protein in humans and mice, and which may mediate leptin's effects in the body.