HRT in the clear
It seems that hormone replacement therapy for treating symptoms of the menopause may be relatively safe after all. In 2002, millions of women stopped taking HRT after a study suggested it increased the risk of heart attack, stroke and breast cancer. Now a re-analysis of the data suggests that, at least for women in their 50s, there is no increased risk of heart attack (The Journal of the American Medical Association, vol 297, p 1465).
Clone wolf?
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An integrity committee at Seoul National University in South Korea is investigating claims by Byeong Chun Lee 鈥� a former colleague of disgraced scientist Woo Suk Hwang 鈥� to have cloned two wolves. DNA samples from the purported clones are being independently analysed. The cloning team is suspected of using erroneous data to inflate their claims.
Cruellest cut outlawed
The painful and dangerous practice of female circumcision has been outlawed in one African country. On 31 March, Eritrea, where around 94 per cent of women are circumcised, announced that anyone who requests, incites or promotes female genital mutilation would be punished with a fine and imprisonment.
Lifeline loan
Part of the Aral Sea, once the world鈥檚 fourth largest inland body of water until rivers feeding it were diverted for agriculture, could be saved following a $126m loan from the World Bank to the Kazakhstan government. The money will be spent on a dam to preserve water levels in the sea鈥檚 northern half.
Wish you were there?
Billionaire Charles Simonyi, former chief architect at Microsoft, has become the fifth paying space tourist to reach the International Space Station. The Soyuz TMA-10 spacecraft carrying Simonyi and two Russian cosmonauts docked with the ISS on Monday.