Body

One of the hottest new materials is a class of porous solids known as metal-organic frameworks, or MOFs. These man-made materials were introduced in the 1990s, and researchers around the world are working on ways to use them as molecular sponges for applications such as hydrogen storage, carbon sequestration, or photovoltaics.

Now, a surprising discovery by scientists in Canada and Russia reveals that MOFs also exist in nature -- albeit in the form of rare minerals found so far only in Siberian coal mines.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, August 5, 2016 - Studies have shown that obstructive sleep apnea and low nighttime oxygen, which result in oxidative stress, are associated with the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in adults. Investigators have now established that these factors may also be important triggers in the progression of pediatric NAFLD to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), according to a new report in the Journal of Hepatology.

PHILADELPHIA--(Aug. 5, 2016)--Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a population of immune cells that have been implicated in tumor resistance to various types of cancer treatment, including targeted therapies, chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Polymorphonuclear (PMN) cells represent the largest population of MDSCs. However, fully understanding the biology and clinical importance of these cells has been hampered by a lack of markers that set them apart from normal neutrophils.

First study to show ovarian environment changes with age and likely hurts quality of eggsOlder ovaries are scarred and inflamedFindings could result in treatments to preserve fertility by delaying ovarian aging

CHICAGO --- Women's decreased ability to produce healthy eggs as they become older may be due to excessive scarring and inflammation in their ovaries, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study in mice.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- A new Brown University study projects that increasing the number of Rhode Islanders treated every year for hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) to about 2,000 by 2020 would reduce cases by 90 percent and prevent more than 70 percent of expected liver-related deaths in the state by 2030.

More moderate increases in treatment such as doubling the number treated each year could reduce death rates by less than 20 percent, the analysis showed.

New lung scanning technology developed at Monash University has the potential to transform treatment for millions of people with lung disease in Australia and around the world.

A four-dimensional lung scanning platform developed at Monash University by Professor Andreas Fouras has been commercialised by his medical technology company 4Dx. The scanning platform is now giving a Monash-led research team new insights into improved treatment.

Marine fisheries catches have been drastically under-reported in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean, threatening the marine environment and livelihoods of the local community, reveals a recent study published in the open-access journal Frontiers in Marine Science.

Actual catches on the islands were an alarming 2.8 times, or 86% higher than that reported to the FAO, and this has very troubling implications.

"This new drug could be a game changer for future treatment of asthma" - Professor Chris Brightling, NIHR Senior Research Fellow at the University of Leicester

The first new asthma pill for nearly 20 years has the power to significantly reduce the severity of the condition, a study led by the University of Leicester has found.

The research was funded by Novartis Pharmaceuticals, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the EU (AirPROM), and is described by the lead researcher as "a game changer for future treatment of asthma."

A preliminary study might hold the key to why over-80s are prone to losing weight.

The research by Mary Hickson, Professor of Dietetics at Plymouth University, found that after eating, elderly people produced a greater amount of peptide YY (PYY) - the hormone that tells humans when they're full.

The study saw six healthy women over the age of 80 eat a breakfast after several hours of fasting; and their hormone levels were compared to those of a number of healthy younger participants in age brackets 20-39; 40-59; and 60-79.

The sudden emergence of the Zika virus epidemic in Latin America in 2015-16 has caught the scientific world unawares. A little known disease that was first diagnosed in the Zika forest environment of Uganda in 1947, the disease largely affected populations in Africa until its emergence in French Polynesia a few years ago and then in Brazil and South America last year. The Zika virus is spread mainly by the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and, like the dengue virus, belongs to the flaviviridae family along with Japanese encephalitis and West Nile virus.

PASADENA, Calif., August 5, 2016 -- A new Kaiser Permanente study found that the risk of younger siblings developing an autism spectrum disorder is 14 times higher if an older sibling has ASD. The study, which was published today in Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, also found the risk level was consistent across gestational age at birth.

Wiley has made available all of its published Zika content on one site http://www.wiley.com/go/zika to coincide with events in Brazil, a territory that has seen increased cases of Zika Virus recently. Access will be freely available until 30 September. New research from medicine, entomology, obstetrics, neuroscience and more will be added to Wiley's Zika page as it becomes available along with interactive content such as interviews, podcasts and videos, providing the latest updates on Zika virus.

New research published online in The FASEB Journal, describes a protein created by the body's "biological clock" that actively represses inflammatory pathways within the affected limbs during the night. This protein, called CRYPTOCHROME, has proven anti-inflammatory effects in cultured cells and presents new opportunities for the development of drugs that may be used to treat inflammatory diseases and conditions, such as arthritis.

BAR HARBOR, MAINE -- Many lower organisms retain the miraculous ability to regenerate form and function of almost any tissue after injury. Humans share many of our genes with these organisms, but our capacity for regeneration is limited. Scientists at the MDI Biological Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, are studying the genetics of these organisms to find out how regenerative mechanisms might be activated in humans.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, USA (Aug. 5, 2016) -- Studies at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio are providing basic new understanding about "heat shock proteins," also called "chaperone proteins." These proteins, first identified in cells subjected to heat, are very important under many stressful and non-stressful metabolic conditions. They maintain proper protein function and, importantly, prevent the inappropriate accumulation of damaged proteins.