By
Rachel Fletcher
Would you wear a fabric that can smooth out the wrinkles - in your skin? Cupron, an American-Israeli textile company, claims that its material, which binds copper to fabric fibres, can improve skin and help rid it of lines and wrinkles, the Columbia Tribune reports.
A recent double-blind trial by the company of its pillowcases found "statistically significant" reductions in wrinkles, crows' feet and fine lines as well as improvement in overall appearance of the skin, according to its claims.
Cupron says that its copper-oxide compound contains broad antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and antimite properties and does not damage healthy tissue.
A hand transplant has been carried out at the Jewish Hospital Hand Care Centre in Louisville, Kentucky. Reportedly only the fourth operation of its kind in America, the surgery was performed by a six-strong team consisting of Kleinert Kut and hand surgeons from the University of Louisville.
The new right hand was received by Dave Robert Armstrong in a 14-hour procedure. He had been using a body-operated cable prosthesis, having lost the appendage when a gun misfired six years ago.
Low-carbohydrate and Mediterranean diets may be just as effective for weight loss as the typical low-fat diet, according to a two-year study by the Ben Gurion University of the Negev.
The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, was also conducted with the Nuclear Research Centre in Dimona, in collaboration with Harvard University and the Universities of Leipzig, Germany and Western Ontario, Canada. Researchers monitored 322 moderately obese people who were randomly assigned diets that were low-fat and calorie-restricted; Mediterranean and calorie-restricted; or low-carbohydrate with more fat, protein and cholesterol and no calorie restrictions.
Those on the latter two shed more weight. Lead researcher Dr Iris Shai said the loss rates were comparable to those of weight-loss medications prescribed by doctors.
A new method of finding a cell's "family tree" devised by Weizmann Institute of Science researchers is being used on cancer cells.
Findings from two complementary studies have shown that cancer cells taken from mouse lymphoma have divided almost twice as many times as normal lung cells in the same amount of time.
Prof Ehud Shapiro and doctoral students Dan Frumkin and Adam Wasserstrom use DNA amplification (production of multiple copies of DNA) and computer simulations to estimate cell depth based on the number of mutations in repetitive DNA sequences.
They worked with Prof Gideon Rechavi of the Sheba Medical Centre to uncover the history of cancer cells.
An Israeli agro-economist is behind a bio-energy project in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. Igal Shani, one of the officials of Sekab Bio-energy, has had a hand in creating what is reportedly the first extra-large-sugar-cane farm for the production of ethanol.
An irrigation expert, he said that half the area has been planted with sugar cane and a 10 million litre water reservoir has been built.