■ United States
New hope for bald people
A US research team has discovered stem cells that can regenerate hair growth, raising the hope that new treatments for baldness could be as little as five years away. When the cells are transplanted into skin they spontaneously grow into hair follicles which produce hair. The research was conducted in mice, but the scientists say it takes us one step closer to finding cures for hair loss in people. "We could isolate the cells from hairs remaining on the back of your scalp, grow them in culture and then reconstitute new hair follicles," said George Cotsarelis, a dermatologist at the University of Pennsylvania school of medicine who led the research.
■ United States
Bizarre killings tax coroners
Six coroners, triple the typical weekend staff, worked in shifts Sunday to identify the nine victims of a mass killing, believed to all be family members of a man who lived a bizarre life of polygamy and incest. Marcus Wesson, who may have fathered two of the victims with his own daughters, was charged on Saturday with nine counts of murder. Bail was set at US$9 million. Identifying the victims and tracking down next of kin to be notified was a difficult process. Wesson, 57, covered with blood but described by police as "very calm," was arrested on Friday at his home.
■ United Kingdom
Muslims against Iraq war
Just under half of British Muslims questioned in a poll released on Sunday said they might consider becoming suicide bombers if they lived in the Palestinian territories, and more than one in 10 said further terror attacks on the US would be justified. The survey, by the ICM polling firm for the Guardian newspaper, found 80 percent of British Muslims said Britain and the US should not have launched their war on Iraq. Ten percent said the decision to attack was correct. Seventy-three percent said further terrorist strikes on the US by al-Qaeda or similar groups would be unjustified, while 13 percent said they would be justified.
■ Poland
Drunk nun crashes tractor
A Polish Benedictine nun is facing jail for driving a tractor into a car while drunk outside her convent in southwestern Poland, police said on Friday. The 45-year-old nun will be charged with drunk-driving and causing an accident, which carries a prison sentence of up to two years, Dariusz Waluch, police spokesman in the southwestern Polish town of Dzierzoniow, told local news agency PAP. He said the nun was 17 times over the country's legal alcohol limit for driving.
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