News tagged with skin pigment

Newly identified gene mutation adds to melanoma risk

A major international study has identified a novel gene mutation that appears to increase the risk of both inherited and sporadic cases of malignant melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer. The identified mutation occurs ...

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Nov 13, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Human skin begins tanning in seconds, and here's how

We all know that human skin tans after days spent in the sun. That relatively slow process has known links to ultraviolet (and specifically UVB) exposure, which leads to tanning only after it damages the DNA of skin cells. ...

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Nov 03, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1

Scientists find vitamin D crucial in human immune response to tuberculosis

Not just important for building strong bones, an international team of scientists has found that vitamin D also plays an essential role in the body's fight against infections such as tuberculosis.

Medicine & Health / Research

created Oct 12, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Three new gene faults found to increase melanoma risk by 30 percent

An international team of researchers has discovered the first DNA faults linked to melanoma - the deadliest skin cancer - that are not related to hair, skin or eye colour.

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created Oct 09, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

A treatment for one form of albinism?

Individuals with oculocutaneous albinism, type 1 (OCA1) have white hair, very pale skin, and light-colored irises because they have none, or very little, of the pigment melanin in their skin, hair, and eyes. Affected individuals ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created Sep 26, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Protein prompting cells to sprout legs could cause skin cancer to spread

Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered that a protein called Rac1 prompts pigment cells to sprout long ‘legs’ that could propel skin cancer cells, allowing them to spread, according to research ...

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Sep 15, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Cellular laser microsurgery illuminates research in vertebrate biology

Using an ultrafast femtosecond laser, researchers at Tufts University in Medford, Mass., were able to label, draw patterns on, and remove individual melanocytes cells from a species of frog tadpole (Xenopus) without damaging ...

Physics / Optics & Photonics

created Aug 17, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Giant hogweed can cause burns and blindness

(PhysOrg.com) -- The U.S Department of Agriculture is warning residents in a variety of states to be on the lookout for the Heracleum Mantegazzianum, or giant hogweed. This plant in native to Central Asia ...

Medicine & Health / Health

created Jul 11, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

States consider banning teens from tanning beds

(AP) -- If a proposed law passes, California teens under 18 will need a fake ID to "fake and bake" themselves to a golden brown.

Medicine & Health / Health

created Jun 27, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Birds' eye view is far more colorful than our own

The brilliant colors of birds have inspired poets and nature lovers, but researchers at Yale University and the University of Cambridge say these existing hues represent only a fraction of what birds are capable ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jun 23, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Study of stem cell diseases advanced by new technique

A rare genetic disease called dyskeratosis congenita, caused by the rapid shortening of telomeres (protective caps on the ends of chromosomes), can be mimicked through the study of undifferentiated induced pluripotent stem ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 23, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Earning its stripes: Zebrafish model of human melanoma reveals new cancer gene

The latest clues suggesting potential new ways to treat melanoma come from an unlikely source: fish.

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Mar 23, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Lasers ID deadly skin cancer better than doctors

High-resolution images from a laser-based tool developed at Duke University could help doctors better diagnose melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, while potentially saving thousands of lives and millions of dollars ...

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Feb 23, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Skin color: Handy tool for teaching evolution

Variations in skin color provide one of the best examples of evolution by natural selection acting on the human body and should be used to teach evolution in schools, according to a Penn State anthropologist.

Biology / Evolution

created Feb 20, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (7) | comments 55

Aboriginal Australians at risk of bone, muscle pain

(PhysOrg.com) -- Aboriginal Australians are at risk of increased bone and muscle pain due to their inability to produce sufficient vitamin D, according to a University of Adelaide study published in the Medical Jo ...

Medicine & Health / Health

created Feb 07, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0