Eureka! Italian researchers say they have found a brain protein that could make the body burn more fat, paving the way for new anti-obesity drugs.

The study by a team of scientists at Italy's National Research Council (CNR) appears in the latest edition of America's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, one of the world's top scientific journals.

Alessandro Bartolomucci, who led the CNR research team, told Italian publication ANSA that the scientists had been surprised by the results of their experiment.

"The effect was unexpected because the peptide was able to prevent the first stage of obesity caused by a fat-rich diet. "The mice that were given TLQP-21 remained the same weight whereas another set of mice that received exactly the same food began to get fat," Bartolomucci said .

He explained that the peptide altered the mice's metabolism, lifting their energy levels, body heat and adrenalin so that they remained unaffected by their two-week high-calorie diet. Bartolomucci believes the peptide has potential as an obesity-fighting agent in humans.

I for one, really hope he's right.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com