Hair from women with breast cancer can be distinguished from hair from women who don’t, researchers in Australia report. When hair is exposed to X-rays, the radiation is diffracted in a distinctive pattern by the alpha-keratin that forms hair. Dr. Gary L. Corino and Dr. Peter W. French used the technique to study hair samples from 13 patients diagnosed with breast cancer and 20 healthy subjects. Hair was cut as close to the skin as possible to obtain samples of most recent hair growth. The investigators "successfully and consistently generated the basic alpha-keratin X-ray diffraction pattern in every hair sample."