Body

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A team of researchers at MIT has developed a new way of making windows that can switch from transparent to opaque, potentially saving energy by blocking sunlight on hot days and thus reducing air-conditioning costs. While other systems for causing glass to darken do exist, the new method offers significant advantages by combining rapid response times and low power needs.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (August 11, 2016) - By identifying new compounds that selectively block mitochondrial respiration in pathogenic fungi, Whitehead Institute scientists have identified a potential antifungal mechanism that could enable combination therapy with fluconazole, one of today's most commonly prescribed fungal infection treatments. The approach could also prevent the development of drug resistance.

A new study published online by JAMA Oncology examines the prevalence and significance of estrogen receptor mutations in patients with metastatic breast cancer.

Is regenerative medicine the next frontier in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery?

Matthew Q. Miller, M.D., of the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, and coauthors explored that question in a new review article published online by JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery.

While regenerative medicine isn't rebuilding missing tissue like they do in "Star Trek" movies, it is about unlocking the regenerative potential of allografts and flaps, which are the foundation of surgical reconstruction, the authors write.

Kansas City, MO. -- Many living creatures possess exceptional abilities that set them apart from other species. Cheetahs can run up to 60 miles per hour; ants can lift 100 times their body weight; flatworms can regrow amputated body parts. Scientists have spent decades studying the mechanisms that drive such remarkable feats, with the hopes that any secrets they uncover might lead to new perspectives in human biology and new ways to enhance health and ameliorate disease.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, and in the Netherlands have discovered how a group of three closely related fungal pathogens have evolved into a lethal threat to the world's bananas, whilst an international consortium led by scientists from Wageningen UR (University & Research Centre) has unravelled the DNA of the fungus that causes black Sigatoka disease in bananas. The findings provide leads for increasing the sustainability of banana cultivation, for instance through the development of a resistant banana plant.

New research published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes [EASD]) shows an increased risk of childhood obesity at age 9-11 years when the mother has had gestational diabetes during pregnancy. The study is by Dr Gang Hu, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA, and colleagues.

Commonly touted as "good cholesterol" for helping to reduce risk of stroke and heart attack, both high and low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol may increase a person's risk of premature death, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System.

Conversely, intermediate HDL cholesterol levels may increase longevity, according to the research.

The large-scale epidemiological study is published Aug. 11 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

ITHACA, N.Y. - In the last five years, some scientists have cautioned against eating eggs and meat because these foods generate a common dietary compound, trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), that research has suggested plays a role in heart disease.

A Cornell study recently published online in the peer-reviewed journal Molecular Nutrition and Food Research reports new results that raise questions about whether circulating TMAO causes heart disease or whether it is simply a biomarker, or a sign, of developing disease.

Most cells in the body carry on their surface tiny pores through which potassium ions travel. In controlling the flow of these positively charged ions, the channel helps the cell maintain its electrical balance.

One particular type of potassium channel, called Eag1, has been found in a number of cell types: in the neurons of the brain, in embryonic cells that generate muscle fiber, and in some tumors cells, where it's thought to have a cancer-promoting effect. But it's not yet clear how Eag1 differs from other potassium channels, or exactly how it works.

We don't tend to wrap our recycling waste in bubble wrap but that's essentially what cells do during the cellular recycling process called autophagy. Using the live imaging capabilities at the Babraham Institute, Institute researchers and their collaborators at Carl Zeiss Microscopy, Munich, and the Francis Crick Institute, London, have viewed the earliest stages of this encapsulation and recycling process in super resolution to reveal what's happening in unprecedented molecular detail. Their research is published today in the journal Nature Communications.

A new species of rain frog was discovered in the premontane forests of the Peruvian central Andes. Referring to the mountain chain's local name, the amphibian's name translates to 'Sleeping beauty'. Another striking thing about the new frog is the contrasting bright red that coats its groins, shanks and thighs.

Wildlife-friendly farming schemes can help boost the abundance of many UK moth species, a new study by the University of Liverpool has found.

Large moths (macro-moths) play an important role as pollinators, but numbers have fallen in the UK by 28% since 1968. The situation is particularly bad in southern Britain, where numbers are down by 40%, with habitat loss thought to be behind the decline.

A new gem has been added to the vast treasure of Mexican reptiles. Mexican scientists recently described a new and strikingly colored species of earth snake from the mountains of Puebla and Veracruz in east-central Mexico.

These burrowing reptiles are seldom encountered and, consequently, have been poorly studied. Furthermore, several species have restricted distribution, making them particularly vulnerable to extinction. The description of the new species was published in the open access journal ZooKeys.

A team of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine cancer researchers has uncovered one way certain tumors resist vital medication.