If clumps of your hair start to fall out from a common form of baldness, a new review of existing research unfortunately offers little comfort. Patients who are afflicted by the condition known as alopecia areata -- patchy hair loss -- should understand that there is no reliable, safe, effective, long-term treatment.
Astronomers have discovered that our galaxy's central black hole let loose a powerful flare three centuries ago. The finding helps resolve a long-standing mystery: why is the Milky Way's black hole so quiescent? The black hole, known as Sagittarius A* (pronounced "A-star"), is a certified monster, containing about 4 million times the mass of our Sun. Yet the energy radiated from its surroundings is billions of times weaker than the radiation emitted from central black holes in other galaxies.
An investigation of processes accompanying spore formation in the bacteria B. subtilis shows that chance plays a significant role in determining which of the microbes sacrifice themselves for the colony and which go on to form spores. The results, which appear in Molecular Systems Biology, highlight the degree to which individual bacteria can deviate from population-wide norms.
Tumors use the body's blood system for their own purposes: They stimulate the growth of blood vessels that supply the tumor. Medical treatment blocks this process in order to restrain tumors. Scientists have now developed a method for producing a complex human vascular system in mice.
Chronic occupational exposure to organic solvents, found in materials such as paints, printing and dry cleaning agents, is widespread all over the world, and is thought to damage the central nervous system.
Using a combination of a targeted cancer-fighting agent called DFMO and a low dose of an anti-inflammatory drug, researchers have reduced the risk of reoccurring colorectal polyps, an early sign of colon cancer, by as much as 95 percent with fewer toxic side effects.
Scientists have developed a battery-free wireless 2-channel EEG system powered by a hybrid power supply using body heat and ambient light which could be used to monitor brain waves after a head injury or for other applications. The hybrid power supply combines a thermoelectric generator that uses the heat dissipated from a person's temples and silicon photovoltaic cells. The entire system is wearable and integrated into a device resembling headphones. The system can provide more than 1mW on average indoor, which is more than enough for the targeted application.
Half a century after the last earth-shattering atomic blast shook the Pacific atoll of Bikini, the corals are flourishing again. Some coral species, however, appear to be locally extinct. One of the most interesting aspects is that the team dived into the vast Bravo Crater left in 1954 by the most powerful American atom bomb ever exploded (15 megatons - a thousand times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb). The Bravo bomb vaporised three islands, raised water temperatures to 55,000 degrees, shook islands 200 kilometers away and left a crater 2km wide and 73m deep.
Specific variations within two genes involved with alcohol metabolism are associated with an increased risk for breast cancer in postmenopausal women, according to a new study. The work indicates that sequence variations within the genes ADH1B and ADH1C may as much as double a postmenopausal woman drinker's risk for breast cancer.
Researchers have found that, in animal studies, a synthetic form of active vitamin D has a substantive preventive effect on the development of both estrogen receptor (ER)-positive and ER-negative breast cancers. Unlike many of the other synthetic vitamin D agents that have been tested in humans, this compound, known as Gemini 0097, shows no toxicity, they report. The research team found that daily injections of Gemini 0097 cut growth of ER-positive cancer by 60 percent in rat studies, and reduced ER-negative breast cancer by half in mice.
GIBRALTAR (Reuters) - A pack of at least 25 of Gibraltar's famous monkeys are being killed because they are threatening human health in one of The Rock's popular tourism areas, a government minister said on Tuesday.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The ceremonial first pitch in Wednesday's Major League Baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox will be thrown from aboard the International Space Station, the Yankees announced.
A technological breakthrough could see the iPod's memory increase by 150,000 times, according to researchers. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 16 Apr 2008 | 11:15 am
More needs to be done to prevent the poisoning of birds of prey on grouse moors, a review says. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 16 Apr 2008 | 10:52 am
MEPs are urged to use their influence to halt poaching of wild tigers and the illegal trade in tiger parts. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 16 Apr 2008 | 10:45 am
James Randerson reports on a scientific study that shows line judges in tennis matches get it wrong a third of the time Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 16 Apr 2008 | 10:34 am
The Royal Society's president says Europe should give up on manned space flight in order to compete. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 16 Apr 2008 | 5:04 am
Vitamin supplements taken by millions may raise risk of premature death, claims new scientific review Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 16 Apr 2008 | 12:40 am
An Alzheimer's study suggests sufferers do not show dementia symptoms when their brain's hippocampus is larger. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 15 Apr 2008 | 11:48 pm
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A chemical in some plastic food and drink packaging including baby bottles may be tied to early puberty and prostate and breast cancer, the U.S. government said on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Misleading research is often published in major medical journals and doctors are lending their names to it, the editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association said on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists may have learned why some people retain sharp minds and clear memories despite having the so-called brain plaques and tangles that are the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease.
LONDON (Reuters) - Extracts from a mushroom used for centuries in Eastern Asian medicine may stop breast cancer cells from growing and could become a new weapon in the fight against the killer disease, scientists said on Tuesday.
Sea levels could rise by up to one-and-a-half metres by the end of this century, according to scientific analysis. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 15 Apr 2008 | 5:14 pm
Agriculture has to change radically if the world is to avoid environmental and social problems, a report warns. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 15 Apr 2008 | 4:46 pm
MANCHESTER (Reuters) - Some have called it a technological breakthrough, others simply an elaborate publicity stunt, but a controversial space-age swimsuit has gripped the swimming world.
