What the scientists are saying…
Acne’s silver lining Teenagers plagued by spots shouldn’t despair: when they are older, their skin may be the envy of their peers. Dermatologists have long observed that those who have had acne tend to have more wrinkle-free, and less papery skin, in middle age than non-sufferers – and now researchers at King’s College London claim to have worked out why. The team studied the tiny cap-like structures on the ends of chromosomes known as telomeres. Much like the plastic tips that stop shoelaces from fraying, these protect DNA from damage, but by shrinking over time they are also linked with biological ageing: previous studies have found that people with long telomeres typically show fewer outward signs of ageing than those with short ones. Now, by analysing the white blood cells of 1,205 female twins, researchers have found the telomeres of acne sufferers tend to be longer than other people’s – hence, perhaps, their more youthful complexions.
ME controversy A preliminary re-analysis of a controversial study into the best treatment for ME – or chronic fatigue syndrome – has concluded that it was based on flawed methodology, reports The Times. The Pace study, published in 2011 and 2013, showed that a combination of exercise and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) resulted in 22% of patients recovering from ME within a year (a significantly higher rate than produced by other treatments); and both treatments are now recommended by the NHS. However, ME sufferers – many of whom objected to the implication that their condition was psychological in origin – complained that the 22% rate didn’t tally with real-world experience, and fought a lengthy battle to have the trial data released so that it could be re-examined. Independent scientists have now started that work and, using the same raw data but a more conservative definition of what constitutes “recovery”, have found that neither CBT nor exercise produced any clear benefit. Philip Stark, professor of statistics at the University of California, Berkeley, said one of the problems with the original research was that the definition of “recovery” in the study protocol had been changed midway. This meant that a patient deemed to be ill on entry could – with the same or even worse symptoms – have been deemed well at the end. However, the paper’s authors continue to defend their work, saying that recovery levels were partly based on patients’ own assessments.
Chinese in Roman London? Roman London may have been home to a Chinese community or, at least, some Chinese individuals, an analysis of ancient remains suggests. Forensics experts from Michigan State University examined 22 skeletons removed from a Roman burial site at Lant Street, in Southwark, and concluded – based on analysis of their skulls and dental enamel – that five were from Mediterranean countries; two were probably ethnic African; and two others were of east Asian descent – and quite likely from China. Trade links between Ancient Rome and China were strong; however, Britain was a long way from the Silk Route, and few Chinese people are thought to have migrated to the Empire: only one other set of possibly Chinese remains has been found at a Roman site, that of an adult man unearthed at Vagnari in Italy. The new findings could mean that trade connections between the two empires were much stronger than previously thought, and that Chinese traders visited and even settled in Britain; however, it is also possible that the Asian people in Londinium were slaves, or descended from enslaved people originally from Asia.