What makes a person beautiful Handsome features A well-proportioned physique By these standards the Fullerene molecule is undeniably beautiful; many scientists have already succumbed to its pure, symmetrical appeal. By 2002, approximately 27,000 research papers and 1,500 patents involving Fullerene had been submitted, and these numbers continue to grow by the year. The scientific community is in the thrall of a Fullerene fever.

Fullerene was discovered accidentally during a study of interstellar materials, trace substances in space. Drs. Curl and Smalley of Rice University in the US and Dr. Kroto of the University of Sussex in Great Britain received the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this discovery.

Beginning with its discovery, scientists have searched for naturally occurring Fullerene, and have since found evidence for the existence since ancient times of trace amounts of Fullerene in nature. Recent studies have found that the molecule is contained in shungite, a graphite-silicate rock found in the Karelian, Republic of Russia, traditionally known for its healing properties, as well as in high-quality ink produced in Weizhou, China, and, in a more familiar example, in candle soot. Fullerene is also present in space, where it acts to reduce hazardous ultraviolet radiation.

In 1991, a paper published in Science, one of the most prestigious journals of its kind, shocked researchers in the life sciences. The paper reported that Fullerene absorbs and eliminates radicals (reactive molecular species, including active oxygen, which are hazardous to living organisms) on the molecular level, essentially detoxifying the substances. In the life sciences today, it is said that to control radicals is to control the future of human health. Needless to say, this paper initiated a wave of studies devoted to the bioactivity of Fullerenes.

Many aggressive studies are currently underway to search for pharmaceutical products that can capitalize on the remarkable bioactivity of Fullerenes. To date, various Fullerene properties have been put to use, such as its ability to eliminate radicals and its particular molecular structure. Studies have found it to be effective in the suppression of metastases, the treatment of cerebral conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, HIV treatment, and Type-C hepatitis therapy. Recently, a drug-developing venture business has succeeded in licensing to a major pharmaceutical company a potential Fullerene drug for the treatment of cerebral conditions.

Country clubs are reserved for the rich and well-born; roughly speaking, this was also the widespread impression of the exclusive domain of Fullerene research. Only select researchers with abundant scientific knowledge, high expertise, and sufficient funds to meet the high costs of Fullerene research were able to experiment with the valuable molecule.

Fullerene's high price - one gram costs tens of thousands yen (more than ten times the price of gold) - prevented the public from fully appreciating the results of Fullerene studies, once ironically referred to as the "scientist's playground." Today, Frontier Carbon Corporation, an affiliated company of Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation, has succeeded in producing Fullerene on a commercial scale; as a result, Fullerene is now accessible to those outside this exclusive circle.

The Vitamin C60 BioResearch Corporation was established in 2003 with the goal of manufacturing products that make effective use of the life-science properties of Fullerene, a substance with a fascinating history and remarkable features. These products will not be cheap, but those we have marketed since 2004 - all sophisticated cosmetics containing Fullerene - have shown an efficacy that is certain to prove the product’s worth among customers.