In search of a fix for broken bones, these scientists stumbled onto new clues to a vexing skin condition: eczema
University of Pennsylvania scientists John Seykora, Dana Graves and Kang Ko identified a type of inflammation involved in atopic dermatitis, a common type of eczema. - Tom Gralish/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

PHILADELPHIA — People with diabetes, especially those with the type 1 form of the disease, are at increased risk of broken bones. A key culprit seems to be a type of inflammation in the stem cells that are responsible for forming new bone. So a pair of University of Pennsylvania scientists tried a logical experiment in lab mice: blocking that inflammation to see if the animals' bones would be less fragile. It worked, but something unexpected happened. The mice also developed scaly lesions on their skin. It turned out that by blocking one type of inflammation, the researchers at Penn's School o...