Oxygen sensing in the brain has a role in metabolism and sensing an organism’s internal state, a new study shows. Cues picked up from the environment by a roundworm called C. elegans determined how quickly the intestine burns fat. It works both ways, as fat reserves in the intestine could also influence the strength of the fat-burning signal from the nervous system. “The implications for this are interesting,” said TSRI Assistant Professor Supriya Srinivasan, senior author of the new study. “If oxygen-sensing neurons change their activity based on how much fat there is in an animal, what other neuronal functions can fat modulate?” To learn more about this study, click here.