1) Fasting or obesity induces SDF-1 expression in adipocytes. 2) Its autocrine action activates ERK signaling. 3) SDF-1-induced ERK signal concomitantly induces serine phosphorylation of IRS-1 protein, and degrades IRS-1 protein. This attenuates 4) insulin-mediated Akt phosphorylation and 5) glucose uptake. Credit: Osaka University

Scientists at Osaka University discovered that Stromal derived factor-1 (SDF-1) secreted from adipocytes reduced the effectiveness of insulin in adipocytes and decreased insulin-induced glucose uptake. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas and helps cells to take in glucose from the blood. Insulin binds to insulin receptors to activate Insulin Receptor Substrate 1 (IRS-1), taking in sugar through phosphorylation of Akt...

The potential of this discovery in terms of reducing energy use and therefore our energy bills is really exciting. Dr Lidija Šiller, joint lead author, Newcastle University

Experts have created a new form of highly-efficient, low-cost, sustainable insulation based on the wings of a dragonfly. The material, known as an aerogel, is the most porous material known to man and ultralight, with a piece the size of a family car weighing less than a kilogram. Starting out as a wet silica gel, similar in structure to jelly, the material is carefully dried to create a strong, porous material...

Special delivery. Experiments using a high-powered projectile cannon suggest that asteroids can deliver surprising amounts of water when they smash into planetary bodies. Credit: Schultz Lab / Brown University

Experiments using a high-powered projectile cannon show how impacts by water-rich asteroids can deliver surprising amounts of water to planetary bodies. The research, by scientists from Brown University, could shed light on how water got to the early Earth and help account for some trace water detections on the Moon and elsewhere. “The origin and transportation of water and volatiles is one of the big questions in planetary science,” said Terik Daly, a postdoctoral researcher at Johns Hopkins University who led the research while completing his Ph.D. at Brown...