Category Health/Medical

The researchers are currently experimenting with carbon-based self-healing composites and self-healing transistors. (Stock image) Credit: © praisaeng / Fotolia

Flexible sensors have been developed for use in electronics, robotics, health care, and space flight. Future possible applications could include the creation of ‘electronic skin’ and prosthetic limbs that allow wearers to ‘feel’ changes in their environments.

One problem with current flexible sensors they can be easily scratched and otherwise damaged, potentially destroying functionality. Researchers in the Dept of Chemical Engineering at the Technion, Israel, who were inspired by the healing properties in human skin, have developed materials that can be integrated into flexible devices to “heal” incidental scratches or cuts...

People who regularly drank moderate amounts of coffee daily –less than 5 cups per day — experienced a lower risk of deaths from cardiovascular disease, neurological diseases, Type 2 diabetes and suicide. The benefit held true for drinking caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, suggesting it’s not just the caffeine providing health perks but possibly the naturally occurring chemical compounds in the coffee beans. Credit: Copyright American Heart Association

Drinking a second or third cup of coffee may do more than get you through a long day – it may also reduce your risk of death from heart disease and other illnesses.

Deposits of Beta-Amyloid in Fruit Flies Stopped by Using Porphyrin and Blue LED Lights

Medical application of photoactive chemicals offers a promising therapeutic strategy for neurodegenerative diseases. A Korean research team jointly led by Professor Chan Beum Park of Materials Science and Engineering Department at KAIST and Dr. Kwon Yu from Bionano Center at KRIBB conducted research to suppress an abnormal assembly of beta-amyloids by using photo-excited porphyrins.

Light-induced treatments using organic photosensitizers have advantages to managing the treatment in time and area. In the case of cancer treatments, doctors use photodynamic therapies where a patient is injected with an organic photosensitizer, and a light is shed on the patient’s lesion...

Mild cold and exercise stimulate creation of “beige fat” in white adipose tissue

It triggers a surprising metabolic mechanism: white fat cells are transformed into cells similar to brown fat ( ‘beige fat’), that protects the body against excess weight and its damaging consequences. In healthy humans, white adipose tissue constitutes ~25% of body mass. However, when in excess, white fat contributes to insulin resistance and diabetes. Conversely, brown fat improves insulin sensitivity and is reversely correlated to obesity.

In response to cold or exercise, cells similar to brown fat – the beige fat – can appear within the white fat, a phenomenon known as “browning...