London: Having moles is usually a cause for embarrassment, but not any more, according to scientists.
A research team from King`s College London believes that people with moles have tougher bones than normal, making them less likely to develop osteoporosis.
They also appear to have fewer wrinkles. Other suspected benefits include tauter muscles and healthier eyes and heart, a newspaper reported.
The findings could lead to a cream which `switches off` wrinkles, doing away with the perceived need for collagen injections or plastic surgery.
Moles are the result of rapidly dividing cells, which produce a dark pigment in the skin, usually in childhood. They often begin to disappear from middle age but in some people they continue to spread.
In a study of 1,200 non-identical female twins aged between 18 and 79, the team found that those with more than 100 moles were half as likely to develop osteoporosis as those with fewer than 25.
People with lots of moles are known to produce white blood cells with unusually long telomeres, a part of DNA, which allows it to replicate, preventing deterioration.
The longer it is, the more time before it starts to degrade – much like the plastic tip on a shoelace.
Genetics expert Professor Tim Spector told a leading English daily that the same findings had been reported in Brisbane, Australia, and applied equally to men and women.
ANI
