News in Brief Genetics Mice lose a gene to drop some weight In addition to having less fat and more muscle, mutated rodents live 20 percent longer than normal By Tina Hesman Saey March 24, 2014 at 3:00 pm - More than 2 years ago Share this:Share Share via email (Opens in new window) Email Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Share on X (Opens in new window) X Print (Opens in new window) Print Shedding a gene called FAT10 helps mice lose body fat and live longer, a new study shows. Scientists already knew that FAT10’s protein gets tacked on to other proteins, sending them to cellular garbage disposals called proteosomes.