Scientists at A*STAR's Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC) have discovered that a set of neurons located in a region of the human brain plays a central role in controlling appetite- offering a new avenue of research that can help combat eating disorders and obesity. For many years- the region of the human brain called the Nucleus Tuberalis Lateralis or NTL remained a mystery- until SBIC's study and subsequent discovery.

The research study drew on SBIC's multi-disciplinary capabilities in neurosciences- physiology- molecular biology and advanced neuroimaging- and represents a significant step towards finding a treatment for metabolic diseases such as obesity- a global epidemic which carries health risks such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. SBIC's research findings were published in Science on 6 July 2018.