There has been more than the usual dose of health stories this week, so I've decided to do a recap of the biggest headlines. And continuing Susi's positive week, I'll give you the good news first.
Good times
Open wide, because white wine may be good for you. For years we've been hearing that drinking red wine is good for your heart, and now white wine has joined the party too. Good, because I hate suffering from red wine lips syndrome.
Phew! Just when we thought scientists were going to make us feel bad about our Starbucks addiction, a new study has shown there is no link between caffeine and breast cancer, as was previously suggested. But women with benign lumps may be at a higher risk if they drink four or more cups of coffee daily. (Is that tall or venti?)
New research has shown that men have another use: stem cells can be extracted from the testicles. While it sounds quite painful (*ouch*) the breakthrough could end the debate about the ethics of harvesting stem cells from embryos.
Apparently, intelligent men have better quality sperm. Hmmm... some brainy boffins claim intelligent men have better sperm - what a surprise.
And finally, a strange but true story: a man has regained feeling in a donated hand following a hand transplant that took place 35 years after an amputation in an industrial accident. Don't you just love medical advancements?
Bad times
Before you scream at your computer screen for what I'm about to write, remember it is *not* my fault. I mentioned earlier that white wine may be good for you. Well, here it goes: another study has shown that light to medium drinkers, particularly female drinkers, may accelerate the brain shrinkage process associated with aging. Grrr...
Fuddy-duddy scientists have said: "If you youngsters keep listening to that racket in your portable-walkman-mp-thingies so loud, you'll end up as deaf as a door nail." OK, so I may have paraphrased a little.
Don't go blaming the mother-in-law if your fella loses his hair at a young age; scientists have discovered a new genetic link for male pattern baldness that can be passed from father to son. Men are seven times more likely to be bald if they inherit both genes linked to baldness.
The Wildlife Conservation Society has identified 12 diseases - including bird flu, cholera and the plague - that it claims will spread into new regions as a result of climate change.
I'm not going to bang on and on about it, because I'm tired of the depressing, non-stop scare-mongering news at the minute (seriously, we get the picture - just draft up a news bulletin when the financial world isn't coming to a crumbling end). But according to NetDoctor, the credit crunch is causing an insomnia epidemic, with half of the 1000 people surveyed saying they are sleeping worse now than they were a year ago.
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I believe that stem cells from the testes were useful for other stem cell research, but didn't have quite the same molecular makeup as embryonic stem cells. Even so, good news :)
Scientists have managed to turn cells that would normally become sperm into skin, structures of the gut, cartilage, bone, muscle and neurons. And the good news for men is that any stem cells derived from the patient’s testicles would not be rejected when used elsewhere in the body. But you’re right: other scientists are being more cautious and have said that more research is needed, as these stem cells don’t have all of the molecular markers associated with embryonic stem cells.