News by Subject Biology

Blooms of blue-green algae have flourished across much of the United States this year. New research from UToledo suggests the toxins those blooms produce can significantly amplify non-alcoholic fatty liver disease at levels below what would harm a healthy liver.

Like an emergency response team that is called into action to save lives, stress response proteins in the heart are activated during a heart attack to help prevent cell death. As part of this process, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University researchers show for the first time that one of these specialized emergency responder proteins, known as MCUB, temporarily decreases harmful levels of calcium transport into mitochondria, the energy-generating batteries of cells.

A toxic cocktail of chemical pollutants in US drinking water could result in more than 100,000 cancer cases, according to a peer-reviewed study from Environmental Working Group -- the first study to conduct a cumulative assessment of cancer risks due to 22 carcinogenic contaminants found in drinking water nationwide.

In a proof-of-concept study, researchers from North Carolina State University have shown that exosomes harvested from human skin cells are more effective at repairing sun-damaged skin cells in mice than popular retinol or stem cell-based treatments currently in use. Additionally, the nanometer-sized exosomes can be delivered to the target cells via needle-free injections.

A University at Buffalo-led research team is developing EarEcho, a biometric tool that uses modified wireless earbuds to authenticate smartphone users via the unique geometry of their ear canal. A prototype of the system, described in this month's Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies, a journal published quarterly by the Association for Computing Machinery, proved roughly 95% effective.

New RNA sequencing-based genetic research conducted at Washington State University's Bear Research, Education, and Conservation Center shows grizzlies express a larger number of genes in preparation for, and during hibernation to cope with such stressors, than do any other species studied.

Steadily reducing fossil fuel emissions over coming years will prevent millions of premature deaths and help avoid the worst of climate change without causing a large spike in short-term warming that some studies predict, new analysis from Duke University and the University of Leeds finds. The finding dispels the misconception that the air-quality and climate benefits of transitioning to clean energy play out at different timescales -- a sticking point in recent climate negotiations.