On the Radar

The pick of the science news

Stop the clock

If you want to live well beyond your 100th birthday, then check out what ageing expert Tom Kirkwood has to say in Dublin next Tuesday.

In a talk entitled The End of Age, Prof Kirkwood will discuss why and how we age, how long humans could possibly live, why ageing makes us vulnerable to disease, and whether we can slow or stop the clock. Kirkwood, from the University of Newcastle, studies the biological basis of the ageing process.

His public talk in Dublin starts at 6pm in the Royal Irish Academy, 19 Dawson Street, Dublin 2. Admission is free but places must be reserved by e-mailing Kirkwood@ria.ie or tel: 01-6090635.

Why women have more bugs on hand

Women harbour a greater diversity of micro-organisms on their hands than men do, according to new research. A DNA screen of 102 palms of men and women found a total of 4,700 different bacterial species, with only five species being shared among all 51 participants. The typical species count per hand was 150.

Women supported a more diverse range of bugs than men, possibly because of differences in skin acidity, thickness, oil production or use of moisturisers, according to the lead researcher at the University of Colorado.

By numbers

421,000The estimated number of people poisoned by snake bites worldwide each year. About 20,000 of them die, many in the poorest countries.

16The number of years mice were frozen before scientists in Japan cloned them.

15The time in months it took a tank discarded from the International Space Station to return to Earth.

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