British scientists are mounting a two-pronged attack to improve the skin's defence mechanisms against the cancer-causing effects of sunlight. They are trying to boost elements called antioxidants as protectors against the sun's ultraviolet rays.
They know that part of the initial damage involves oxidation of important skin components and are concentrating on antioxidants that are part of diet, notably certain vitamins in fruit and vegetables.
Prof Rex Tyrrell, an expert on ultraviolet effects who leads a team at the University of Bath, is collaborating with Prof Catherine Rice-Evans, co-director of the International Antioxidant Centre in London, with a grant from the Association for International Cancer Research.
Prof Tyrrell said it was widely known that a regular diet of fruit and vegetables brings anti-cancer benefits. "But is not absolutely certain whether it is the high-fibre content or the high antioxidant content, or a combination of both, which is most beneficial.
"We are seeking clues on how best to boost the defence mechanisms. We hope to answer basic questions so that we can give well-founded advice on how people can protect themselves against harmful sunlight."
Normal-looking smear-test cells have been shown to conceal hidden abnormalities by a new technique that could transform cervical cancer screening. Using a hi-tech system of analysing the chemical composition of cells, US scientists discovered dramatic differences between smear samples from healthy women and women with pre-malignant abnormalities and cancer.
Significantly, cells from the latter women that appeared completely normal under a microscope were shown to have invisible abnormalities.
Very often only a tiny fraction of cells in a suspect smear sample are seen to be abnormal, so even a skilled screener can make a mistake. The new method could make errors much less likely.
The infra-red spectroscopy technique produces recognisable patterns that reflect the chemical composition of tissues and cells. Researchers at Rockefeller University in New York, and the biotech company Digilab, used it to examine more than 2,000 individual cervical cells from 10 healthy women, seven with the pre-malignant condition dysplasia and five with cervical cancer.
They published their findings in the latest issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They noted: "This study has important implications. It suggests that when the neo-plastic process (the process of becoming a tumour), defined morphologically, is developed in the cervix, the normal appearing cells surrounding those that are morphologically abnormal have extensive (and measurable) structural changes."
The errant SOHO space probe is finally fully back on line, and its controllers have reactivated nine of its 12 onboard experiments. SOHO, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory spacecraft jointly operated by the European Space Agency and NASA, spun out of control on June 24th last. While off-line its experiments suffered anything from a chilly -100C up to boiling point at 100C. The spacecraft studies the sun and orbits about a million miles above the Earth. Launched on December 2nd, 1995, it had been such a rousing success until June that its mission was extended last April until 2003.