Health News - Monday, April 2, 2007
Scientists have developed a simple method of converting blood from one group to another, which could potentially mean the end of blood shortages and boost supplies of sought-after group O negative blood. O negative blood is known as "universal" because it can be given to anyone in a blood transfusion.
In research published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Biotechnology, an international team of researchers said they successfully converted blood from groups A, B or AB to group O. People in groups A and B have blood containing one of two different sugar molecules which can trigger an immune response. Those in group O have neither of these "antigens", while those in group AB have both. The scientists, led by Professor Henrik Clausen of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, used bacterial enzymes as biological "scissors" to cut sugar molecules from the surface of red blood cells. Continue reading
Skin cancer due to sun exposure appears faster -- and is more severe -- in males than in females, mouse studies show. It's well known that men are more likely to get skin cancer than women are. Men get twice the overall number of skin cancers and three times more squamous cell carcinomas than women do, notes Tatiana M. Oberyszyn, PhD, assistant professor of pathology at Ohio State University in Columbus.
Why? Researchers usually say this is because men are more likely than women to have outdoor jobs -- and that they are less likely to protect their skin with sunscreen, shirts, and hats. Oberyszyn wondered whether this is true. To test the theory, Oberyszyn's team exposed a breed of hairless mice to ultraviolet rays from a sun lamp. The mice underwent eight- to 10-minute tanning sessions three times a week for six months. That was enough to give both male and female mice skin cancer. Continue reading