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Sun Screen Skin CancerJune 6, 1998 | Volume 153 | Number 23 Cover: Sunscreens help prevent skin from burning, but do they protect against skin cancer? Scientists are trying to find out through epidemiological and chemical studies. There's no definitive answer yet, but research does suggest safe sun strategies. |
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Food for
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News of the Week:
Ancient Skull Fills Big Fossil GapThe discovery of a 1-million-year-old skull belonging to the same evolutionary lineage as modern humans ranks as a highly significant addition to the hominid fossil record.
Small comet theory melts under scrutiny
Scientists attack the idea that thousands of large snowballs pelt Earth every day.
Hubble takes first image of possible planet
A dim white dot on a Hubble Space Telescope image may be the runaway planetary offspring of a pair of youthful stars.
Atomic faces peek through lead shroud
A scanning tunneling microscope detects steps and crystal patterns in silicon hidden beneath a lead film.
Picturing pesticides’
impacts on kids
Heavy exposure to pesticides subtly hinders preschoolers’ hand-eye coordination and dramatically diminishes their ability to draw people.
Red-flashing fish have chlorophyll eyes
A fish that uses a form of chlorophyll to see provides the first documented case of that compound's physiological role in an animal.
Survey finds wide resistance to TB drugs
Drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis are prevalent in 35 countries studied by the World Health Organization.
New spermicides stop cells
gently
A vanadium compound inactivates sperm by shutting down the molecular motors that turn their whiplike tails.
Research Notes
Biology
Plasmas put the hurt on microbesGases of electrically charged particles can sterilize surfaces and foods by destroying bacteria, fungi, and viruses.
Foxy fungi tarnish old books
Fungi belonging to the genus Aspergillus are responsible for rust-colored splotches on the pages of books from the 19th century and earlier.
Sheep bacteria widen diet of cattle
Inoculating cattle with bacteria that help sheep detoxify alkaloid compounds may allow cows to eat feed containing tansy ragwort and other poisonous plants.
Bacterial gene makes the sun fun again
A gene that repairs DNA damage helps bacteria survive on sunlit plant leaves.
Ahh, the sweet smell of bacteria
Seeding livestock waste lagoons with bacteria that degrade odorants makes the lagoons less smelly.
Articles:
Melanoma Madness
The scientific flap over sunscreens and skin cancer
Epidemiological studies
Epidemiologists are concerned because the rise in sunscreen use has occurred in tandem with an increase in skin cancer.Chemical studies
Scientists are taking a fresh look at how sunscreens block ultraviolet light.
Ka-Boom!
A shockingly unconventional meat tenderizer
A small company has been working with the federal government to determine why explosions work so well at reducing the toughness of meat.
People to ContactLetters: A Selection from Letters to the Editor
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