UT Southwestern Medical Center plastic surgeons are among a handful in the nation deploying a new type of laser that goes deeper into the skin to help reduce wrinkles, tighten surface structures and treat pigmentation differences.

It’s well known that overexposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun can cause major skin problems, ranging from skin cancer to sunburns and premature wrinkles. A tan, for example, is nature’s own UV protection and an unhealthy sign that your skin is damaged.

The body may hold a secret to normalizing skin cell growth that is over zealous in psoriasis and non-melanoma skin cancers and too slow in aging and sun-damaged skin, researchers say.

The next generation of self-healing materials, invented by researchers at the University of Illinois, mimics human skin by healing itself time after time. The new materials rely upon embedded, three-dimensional microvascular networks that emulate biological circulatory systems.

In classic movies, cigarette smoking was used as shorthand to convey sultriness and beauty. In the real world, the connection between smoking and one's appearance - as many studies have shown - has more to do with premature signs of aging and less to do with glamour and refinement.