Obstructive sleep apnea is caused by a narrowing of the airway that cuts off breathing, and people who are obese are at higher risk for the disorder. MIT researchers have discovered that a dietary supplement called yohimbine reverses the root cause of obstructive sleep apnea in an animal model. Credit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Obstructive sleep apnea, which causes people to briefly stop breathing while asleep, affects an estimated 5% of the population, not including the many more who don’t even realize they suffer from the disorder. MIT researchers have discovered that a dietary supplement, yohimbine reverses the root cause of OSA in an animal model.

Yohimbine, a chemical derived from the bark of the African yohimbe tree, has a long history of use by humans as an aphrodisiac, ...

Anti-tumor Immunity Elicited by pSynConWT1-S (A) Mice were challenged with 106 mWT1-C1498 tumor cells injected subcutaneously and were vaccinated weekly starting 3 days post-tumor implant. Tumor measurements are reported in terms of tumor volume only for surviving mice until day 28. (B) Survival data from the tumor therapeutic challenge in (A). Vaccination with pSynConWT1-S extended survival in tumor-bearing mice. (C) Representative image of tumor size in naive or pSynConWT1-S vaccinated groups at day 14 post-mWT1-C1498 implantation. Error bars represent the average ± SEM.

Scientists at The Wistar Institute and Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc...

The buckling-induced cubic patterned kirigami sheet can be folded flat (Image courtesy of Ahmad Rafsanjani/Harvard SEAS)

Origami-inspired materials use folds in materials to embed powerful functionality. However, all that folding can be pretty labor intensive. Now, researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) are drawing material inspiration from another ancient Japanese paper craft—kirigami. Kirigami relies on cuts, rather than folds, to change the structure and function of materials.

In a new paper published in Physical Review Letters, SEAS researchers demonstrate how a thin, perforated sheet can be transformed into a foldable 3D structure by simply stretching the cut material...

Annular eclipse: the sun crossed South America shortly after 1200 GMT, on course for Africa. Credit: Dale Cruikshank

Stargazers applauded as they were plunged into darkness Sunday when the moon passed in front of the sun in a spectacular “ring of fire” eclipse. Astronomers and enthusiasts in Argentina were among the first to see the so-called annular eclipse as it crossed South America shortly after 1200 GMT, on course for Africa. Staring up through special telescopes, protective glasses or homemade cardboard pinhole devices, they watched the Sun all but disappear briefly as the Moon crossed its path. The eclipse was to be most visible in a 100-kilometer (62-mile) band across Chile, Argentina, Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

More than 100 stargazers gathered on Sunday ...