New Study Rewrites Decades of Fat Science

Scientists have discovered that a protein called HSL not only breaks down fat, but also helps regulate cell health and metabolism. This is why people (and mice) missing this gene develop something called lipodystrophy. This rare condition causes people to lose healthy fat tissue, rather than become obese, despite the fact that HSL breaks down fat. These findings could lead to new approaches for treating metabolic diseases. The information from this research calls for more targeted therapeutic strategies for conditions like obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes. The work also reinforces the idea that metabolic enzymes can have multiple functions and provides a deeper understanding of cellular metabolism/energy balances. 

Sources:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/05/260508171123.htm

https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(25)00433-4

Chemotherapy Overdosing Due To Gene Deficiency

KFF Health News tells the story of a woman named Carol Rosen who was receiving chemotherapy to help fight against breast cancer. Shockingly, she had passed away from being overdosed with too much chemo also known as 5-FU (fluorouracil). The reason this happens to some cancer patients is that their bodies lack a gene that helps aid the metabolism of chemotherapy treatments. Hospitals are supposed to test for the gene that aids in chemotherapy treatments but it was discovered that only 3% of hospitals will test for gene deficiency before administration of 5-FU. 

This article was really shocking to me because I had no idea people could overdose on chemotherapy. Sometimes you just assume that health professionals can’t make mistakes but in this situation, their mistake cost someone their life. Even though this is a rare gene deficiency, testing should be mandated to ensure a situation like this never happens again. If testing won’t be mandated, then more people should be aware of this deficiency so they can ask to be tested before receiving chemotherapy.