Category Health/Medical

Researchers have discovered an unexpected biological pathway by which brown fat cells can translate energy into heat. When we are exposed to sufficient cold or exercise, small clusters of brown fat cells in our bodies begin to burn up energy. Since 2009, when researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center and other institutions discovered that this helpful form of fat can be active in adults, scientists have sought to turn up the heat from these cells to treat obesity, diabetes and other metabolic conditions.

Researchers in the lab of Joslin’s Yu-Hua Tseng, PhD, a Senior Investigator in the Section on Integrative Physiology and Metabolism, now have dis...

Over the last three weeks, a team of scientists, engineers and doctors at the University of Vermont have developed a new design—and built a working model—for a simple, inexpensive ventilator.

“We think these could be rolled out very quickly and be effective on an emergency b...

Genetic variations in the skin can create a natural sunscreen, according to University of Queensland researchers investigating the genes linked with vitamin D.

Professor John McGrath from UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute said this was one of a number of ways vitamin D affected the body in a collaborative study that looked at the genomes of more than half a million people from the United Kingdom.

“This study has implicated several new skin-related genes that impact on our vitamin D status – distinct from skin colour which affects our ability to make vitamin D depending on the concentration of the pigment melanin in the skin,” Professor McGrath said.

“Vitamin D is the sunshine hormone and we need bright sunshine on the skin to make it, but variations in our genes also influence ...

The FDA granted its first emergency authorization for a rapid antibody blood test for COVID-19, developed by Cellex, allowing people to gauge a person’s immune response to the novel coronavirus.

The serological test—which uses a fingerprick of blood and a small strip, similar to a combination of a blood glucose test and a home pregnancy exam—detects two different types of antibodies produced by the body to fight off the infection. Available by prescription, this can be used to determine whether a person has been previously infected and possibly recovered.