Skin cell conversion made safer British and Canadian researchers have discovered a safe way to transform ordinary skin cells into stem cells, which can then potentially be grown into specialised organs and replacement tissue. The breakthrough is a major refinement of a pioneering development by Kyoto University's Shinya Yamanaka in 2007. The key drawback of his method is that it uses a virus, which modifies the cells' DNA and significantly increases the risk of cancer. The new method, based on a technique for genetically modifying crops, carries no such risk, AFP reports.
B12 deficiency can cause birth defects Women with low vitamin B12 levels during their first four weeks of pregnancy are at significantly greater risk of having a baby with a serious birth defect, say US researchers, based on analysis of blood samples from about 1,200 Irish women. Those with the lowest levels were five times more likely than those with the highest to have a child with a neural tube defect, the two most common types of which are spina bifida and anencephaly. Awareness of the need to boost levels of folic acid, another important B vitamin, has helped reduce the incidence of such defects, Reuters reports.
More women selling eggs in recession US fertility clinics have reported a rise since the start of the economic downturn in the number of women inquiring about selling their eggs, attracted by fees of up to US$10,000, Reuters reports. 'There's an economic climate that encourages women to find creative ways to make money,' says Katherine Bernardo of the Northeast Assisted Fertility Group. However, she says the criteria are tough and that only 5 per cent to 7 per cent of applications results in egg retrieval. Ideal candidates are in the 20s, healthy, attractive and well-educated.
Doodle to improve your memory Doodling may be an effective way of boosting memory, says Jackie Andrade of the University of Plymouth, based on a small study of 40 adults. They were asked to listen to a 'rather dull' 21/2-minute audio tape about people who would definitely or probably come to a party. Later, doodlers recalled 29 per cent more information than those who hadn't doodled, WebMD reports.
Angry young men likelier to get fatAngry young men stand a good chance of turning into fat old men, say French researchers, based on analysis of a two-decade British study of almost 6,500 men and women, initially aged 35 to 55. Both men and women who were ranked more hostile at the start of the study tended to have higher body mass indices than their peers, Reuters reports. But whereas this remained constant for women, the more hostile men tended to get significantly larger over the next 20 years, says the team from Hopital Paul-Brousse in Villejuif.
Enzyme causes hair to go grey British researchers say they have figured out what makes your hair go grey: a bleaching process from within the hair that's triggered by a drop in levels of an enzyme called catalase. As a result, naturally occurring hydrogen peroxide in the hair isn't broken down or the damage it causes repaired. The University of Bradford team says they now hope to figure out a way to stop the chain reaction, according to WebMD.