JAPAN: Shiseido Co. announced that it has conducted experiments that suggest the natural sweetener stevia can promote the growth of eyelashes. The cosmetics maker cultured cells found at the root of the eyelash in the presence of steviosides, which are the compounds that give stevia its sweet taste. The steviosides caused the MSX2 gene in these cells to be expressed at triple the normal level. Because this gene is known to promote the synthesis of keratin, which is a component of the eyelash, t...