Scientists have long suspected that how our bodies deal with calories is somewhat determined by our genetic makeup. Around one in 7,000 people carries a broken copy of this gene that almost acts like a GLP-1 drug—the body burns fuel more efficiently, and the risk of disease lowers. To find the gene, scientists sequenced the coding DNA of more than a million people across three continents to scour for mutations that influence how the body stores and uses fat. They also had lower blood lipids, less liver fat, lower blood sugar, proportionally more muscle and roughly 60 percent lower odds of cardiometabolic diseases, such as obesity and diabetes. He suspects that targeting the gene in the liver alone might mitigate the risks.