Science News
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Scientists from Harvard University in the US have devised a detector which can rapidly identify viruses in patient samples. Charles Lieber and his team have found a way to link... |
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I'm sure it's something you've pondered long and hard after wasting a few quid down at the bookies - what actually makes for a fast racehorse? Apparently around 80% of modern r... |
Questions
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Is aloe vera grown commercially to harvest, how big are the plants, how is is extracted ?
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To be honest you got me on that one. I don't know the precise mechanism. There are lots of trials with aloe vera when it's in skin cream or after sun, but the preparations are made in very different ways. There are lots of problems with evaluating the effects because you are not sure you are comparing like with like. The plant originated in North Africa, and has since been exported all over the world because people realised its beneficial effects. It has a substance called anthraquinone, an irritant to your gastrointestinal system that works as a laxative. It also has an aspirin-like agent called salicylic acid, which makes it a good pain-reliever. It also contains magnesium lactate, which blocks the synthesis of histamine. Histamine is one of the classes of substances that make your eyes itchy, that make your chest tight and wheezy and causes a skin wheal when you have an allergy. But because Aloe Vera binds water well, especially if you mix it with propylene glycol in skin cream, it keeps your skin nice and soft and smooth and damp. All these factors (except possibly the laxative effect) explain why it makes an ideal after-sun ointment.
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| Interviews
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Dr Armand Leroi
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Dana Mackenzie
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Dr Mike Hobson
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Fact or Fiction
A car 'autopilot' has been developed that can prevent you from hitting
things
 
![]() It's True - Scientists at Surrey University have based the technology
on the system used in heat-seeking missles. They predict that their pedestrian-detecting
system could save thousands of lives a year, and could be on the market
within 5 years.
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The fastest 'skydiver' recorded clocked a speed of 200 km/h
![]() It's False
- Frenchman Michael Brook managed a top speed on 524 km/h on a leap during
a 1999 competition.
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When you put on weight, you increase the number of fat cells in the
body
![]() It's False - The average adult has between 40 and 50 billion fat
cells, or adipocytes, that sit just beneath the skin and store fat. Contrary
to popular belief, when you get fat the number of cells stays the same,
but the size of each one increases. They only increase in number in young
babies.
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On average, men spend over 200 pounds per year just on 'gadgets'
![]() It's True - Men love their toys, as evidenced by recent findings which
have revealed they spend over 230 pounds a year on gadgets and other useless
rubbish. Women were not far behind though, blowing almost 200 quid a year
on tat.
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Neanderthal man is our closest and most recent ancestor
![]() It's False
- Neanderthals and modern humans (Homo sapiens) co-existed until around
30,000 years ago and both share a common ancestor called Homo heidelbergensis.
But neanderthals died out leaving just us behind. They were never our
relatives.
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The largest recorded hailstone measured about half a metre (50 cm)
in circumference
![]() It's True - The largest documented hailstone was found
in September 1970 in Coffeyville. It weighed a kilogram, and measured
17.5 inches (about 45 cm) in circumference.
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