By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Think about a world where we could eat all we want without sacrificing our health. In the laboratory that may be possible, at least in mice.

According to a new study, mice with an extra dose of a known anti-cancer gene lose weight even as their appetites grow. The animals also live longer. You might be wondering why.

According to the researchers, it might be due to hyperactive brown fat, which burns energy instead of storing it. They were also less prone to insulin resistance and had less fat in their livers.

Those benefits seem to trace back to the fact that those mice were burning more calories thanks to overactive brown fat. Obviously there is much more to learn. There could be a tremendous down side that we are not seeing and we don’t know if this translates into humans but overall it is a very interesting report.