Topic: Fighting Cancer and Aging with .... beer

[Nemesis]

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A team of researchers at Rice University in Houston is working to create a beer that could fight cancer and heart disease. Taylor Stevenson, a member of the six-student research team and a junior at Rice, said the team is using genetic engineering to create a beer that includes resveratrol, the disease-fighting chemical that's been found in red wine.

Scientists at the University of Wisconsin in June had called resveratrol, which is a natural component of grapes, pomegranates and red wine, a key reason for the so-called French Paradox -- the observation that French people have lower rates of heart disease despite a cuisine known for its cream sauces and decadent cheeses, all loaded with heart-clogging saturated fats.

The Wisconsin researchers had noted that adding small doses of resveratrol to the diet of middle-aged mice significantly slows their aging and keeps their hearts healthy. And they added that giving high doses to invertebrates extends their life spans, and high doses also stave off premature death in mice fed a high-fat diet.

Stevenson said that the Rice research group, most of the members of which aren't old enough to legally drink alcoholic beverages, came up with the idea of adding resveratrol to beer during a casual conversation about potential projects to undertake. "The idea is that it may have greater effects [in beer than in wine]," he added. "The amount of red wine you'd need to drink to get the same results they get with rats in labs is about half a bottle a day."

[Centurus]

I can see the commercials now.  4 out of 5 doctors recommend Samuel Adams beer.

I'll drink to that.

[Bonk]

I saw something about weed and colon cancer recently (in that it helps prevent it...). Ah here it is, (much as I hate to link this rag): http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/drugs-alcohol/dn14451-marijuana-takes-on-colon-cancer.html

Now if only smoked and processed meats and hot sauces did not encourage colon cancer, it would be a perfect world! 

(Disclaimer: what follows is the intuitive Gospel of Bonk) Unfortunately, there cannot be life without cancer, that is just the way it is, the medical profession is just beginning to realise this now, but it does nothing to hinder the misguided, endless and sexist fundraising for breast cancer. (note, I appreciate bewbies as much as the next guy but there are limits). You see, cancers are most often found in regenerative tissues, it is the nature of the beast, you cannot have one without the other. A relative of mine who is a urologist turned general surgeon now occupied mostly with colonoscopies, accepted this insight of mine quite genuinely, to my surprise that such an insight should come as something new.

My take on this goes back to my experience in watching a government scientist colleague of mine (who I respected greatly) pushed into early retirement, due, I purport, to her rapid gains in research into the xenoestrogenic activity of common carcinogenic contaminants in foodstuffs, for you see, most carcinogens are indeed xenoestrogenic in activity. The hormone of life is the hormone of death, the two are inseparable. I felt the higher-ups felt that the public is not ready for this realisation.

However, I am having a really hard time endorsing beer these days, ethanol is a very strong narcotic and does nasty things to people. It is best used as an antiseptic in conjunction with mechanical abrasion to break up biofilms.

Edit: ah, on reading the quote FTA, I see it is an additive. I'll stick to the traditional anti-oxidants, most commonly vitamin E and lycopene, the problem is that quality fresh blueberry juice is desperately difficult to obtain and quite expensive.
http://www.vandykblueberries.ca/  <--- this stuff is awesome, pure goodness, you can feel it immediately. He has the process down, virtually no oxidation of the prouct as received.

[Dracho]

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A team of researchers at Rice University in Houston

This was confirmed by a second study conducted by Hopps University...

[Bonk]

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A team of researchers at Rice University in Houston

This was confirmed by a second study conducted by Hopps University...

Stop! I can barley take it! 

[Dracho]

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A team of researchers at Rice University in Houston

This was confirmed by a second study conducted by Hopps University...

Stop! I can barley take it! 

Sorry, didn't mean to make you brewed over it.

[Bonk]

Link to full article

A team of researchers at Rice University in Houston

This was confirmed by a second study conducted by Hopps University...

Stop! I can barley take it! 

Sorry, didn't mean to make you brewed over it.

That's OK, it's the yeast of my worries.

[Dracho]

Sheesh.. the first smarta$$ around here doesn't have a keg to stand on.

[Centurus]

*grabs a tap and looks at everyone wondering who to stick it in to get something to drink*