Bonn, Germany (ANTARA News/dpa) - Scientists say they have found at last the gene that causes some men to go prematurely bald like their fathers.The same team discovered a baldness gene three years ago that can only be passed on by women to their sons, which would explain why some men's hair loss resembles that of their maternal grandfathers.
Now the geneticists at the German universities of Bonn and Dusseldorf have zeroed in on a gene that both fathers and mothers can pass to their sons, which would explain commonly noticed father-son resemblances in hair thinning.
A group of British scientists discovered the gene at almost the same moment. Both jointly published the findings Sunday in the online edition of Nature Genetics.
The Bonn team led by Axel Hillmer studied more than 500,000 genetic markers as they hunted for features that were common in men who go bald in middle age or earlier.
Once they discover how the gene influences hair growth, it will be possible to consider therapies that thwart the effect. Hillmer's team cautioned that other genes were also potentially involved, making the problem complex. (*)
source:www.antara.co.id
BERLIN, KAMIS - Permukaan laut diperkirakan akan naik setinggi satu meter pada akhir abad ke-21. Demikian laporan yang dilansir sebuah lembaga riset terkemuka Jerman Kamis (10/10). Menurut lembaga itu, kenaikan ini jauh lebih tinggi ketimbang proyeksi paling optimis yang disampaikan panel iklim PBB, IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel for Clomate Change).
"Kita sebaiknya bersiap-siap dalam menghadapi naiknya permukaan laut setinggi satu meter pada abad ini," kata Joachim Schellnhuber, kepala Institut Postdam bagi Riset Dampak Iklim (PIK), yang memberikan nasehat kepada pemerintah dalam kebijakan lingkungan.
Tingkat pencairan es di Himalaya dan Greenland telah meningkat menjadi dua kali lipat atau bahkan tiga kali lipat dalam beberapa tahun belakangan ini. Sebagian karena faktor naiknya emisi gas rumah kaca dari berbagai pembangkit listrik China.
Pada Februari 2007, dalam volume pertama laporan bersejarahnya, IPCC meramalkan kenaikan permukaan berbagai samudera antara 19 sentimeter hingga 59 sentimeter pada 2100. Kenaikan permukaan laut satu meter saja boleh jadi akan membuat pulau-pulau di Samudera Pasifik yang letaknya rendah, seperti Tuvalu, akan terendam, dan banjir besar akan menggenangi Bangladesh dan mengancam kota-kota, dari New York hingga Buenos Aires.
WAH
