Chameleons can famously change their colors to camouflage themselves, communicate and regulate their temperature. Scientists have tried to replicate these color-changing properties for stealth technologies, anti-counterfeiting measures and electronic displays, but the materials have limitations. Now, researchers have developed a flexible film that changes color in response to stretching, pressure or humidity.

The sustainability implications of the coronavirus pandemic on the cosmetics industry will be discussed at the upcoming Sustainable Cosmetics Summit. The European edition will be hosted on an online platform on 2-5th November 2020.
The pandemic has created unprecedented health, social and economic crises. The cosmetics industry has been affected in various ways: from the supply of raw materials, production process, to marketing and distribution of finished products. Consumers are also changing the way they buy and use cosmetics & personal care products. The Sustainable Cosmetics Summit will discuss the ramifications of COVID-19 with a green lens. Eight things you will learn from this edition.

Sun-seeking behaviour is linked to genes involved in addiction, behavioural and personality traits and brain function, according to a study of more than 260,000 people led by King’s College London researchers. This means that people’s behaviour towards seeking sun is complicated by a genetic predisposition, and this needs to be taken into account when designing skin cancer awareness campaigns.

Following a year of respectable performance in 2019 with 4.2% sales gains, the U.S. home fragrances market is poised to end the year with flat growth, which is considered an outstanding result in these uncertain times. Home scent products, notably candles, have become a category of comfort and escapism for housebound consumers in 2020, moving from a desirable purchase to a quarantine essential. 

One day, people could monitor their own health conditions by simply picking up a pencil and drawing a bioelectronic device on their skin. In a new study, University of Missouri engineers demonstrated that the simple combination of pencils and paper could be used to create devices that might be used to monitor personal health. Their findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

For a while now, some plastic surgeons have been using stem cells to treat aging, sun-damaged skin. But while they’ve been getting good results, it’s been unclear exactly how these treatments – using adult stem cells harvested from the patient’s own body – work to rejuvenate “photoaged” facial skin. A new microscopic-level study provides the answer: within a few weeks, stem cell treatment eliminates the sun-damaged elastin network and replacing them with normal, undamaged tissues and structures – even in the deeper layers of skin.

A Mount Sinai research team has identified one of the mechanisms that establish the skin as a protective barrier, a breakthrough that is critical to understanding and treating common skin conditions including eczema and psoriasis, according to a study published Thursday, May 28, in the scientific journal Genes & Development. 

One of the most important roles of the skin is to act as a barrier that prevents water loss and protects the skin from pathogens.