June 17th, 2008
A strong cup of coffee in the morning can feel like a life saver. Now, one of the largest and longest studies of coffee drinking suggests that coffee may indeed boost your lifespan – providing you drink enough of the stuff, that is.
The study tracked 129,000 men and women over two decades. It found that people who consumed several cups of coffee every day were less likely to die of heart disease than those who shied away from the stuff. Heart disease is an umbrella term for conditions including heart attacks, stroke, and arrhythmia.
The researchers found that women who drank four to five cups per day were 34% less likely to die of heart disease, while men who had more than five cups a day were 44% less likely to die.
Full Story Here from New Scientist
February 1st, 2008
If you have blue eyes (like myself) you may find the following interesting.
A University of Copenhagen team has identified the gene which around 6-10,000 years ago underwent a genetic mutation in one individual who eventually gave rise to all blue-eyed people.
The proof that all blue-eyed people have a common ancestor comes from the fact that whereas eye colours ranging from brown to green are caused by relatively large differences in the amount of melanin in the iris, controlled by “considerable individual variation” in the area of the DNA responsible for melanin production, the variation in iris melanin levels across all blue-eyed individuals is very small.
“From this we can conclude that all blue-eyed individuals are linked to the same ancestor. They have all inherited the same switch at exactly the same spot in their DNA.”
Professor Eiberg from the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/01/blue_eyes_mutation/
