TECHNO DOC

This week: Nanoneedle patch turns bad fat into good IN FUTURE, slimming our wobbly bits could be as simple as slapping on a patch, suggest the results of a trial of a new device.

Reported in the journal ACS Nano, a study by researchers in North Carolina used patches covered in tiny needles to inject a substance into the fat under the skin to turn it from so-called ‘bad’ white fat into ‘ good’ brown fat. Brown fat — unlike white, the kind laid down around stomach and hips if we over-eat — helps you burn off calories.

However, it is usually found in only small quantities in adults.

So far, the 1 sq cm patch has been tested only on mice, but it showed impressive effects, reducing the amount of fat under the patch, increasing the amount of energy burned and improving the symptoms of type 2 diabetes.