Soda Pop Damages Your Cells' Telomeres

BarbaraHudson writes Those free soft drinks at your last start-up may come with a huge hidden price tag. The Toronto Sun reports that researchers at the University of California — San Francisco found study participants who drank pop daily had shorter telomeres — the protective units of DNA that cap the ends of chromosomes in cells — in white blood cells. Short telomeres have been associated with chronic aging diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and some forms of cancer. The researchers calculated daily consumption of a 20-ounce pop is associated with 4.6 years of additional biological aging. The effect on telomere length is comparable to that of smoking, they said. "This finding held regardless of age, race, income and education level," researcher Elissa Epel said in a press release.

Comments

'Regardless of... income and education level' ?

[ReallyEvilCanine]

In other news, the sky will be cloudy tomorrow regardless of whether your eyes are brown, blue, or green.

My bullshit meter always starts kicking into life when the hyperbole starts flowing, like the reading comprehension or random amount of payment received having a causative effect on the function of an organic process.

Re:'Regardless of... income and education level' ?

[ScentCone]

My bullshit meter always starts kicking into life when the hyperbole starts flowing, like the reading comprehension or random amount of payment received having a causative effect on the function of an organic process.

For me, it's my Political Correctness Meter. You know how it works.

Headline: "Huge Comet To Smash Into Earth, Instantly Ending All Life On The Planet! Activists Say Women and Minorites Unfairly Impacted."