I propose changing the headline, as it makes the claim that soda pop directly damages telomeres, while the study found no such causation or mechanism. It is fairly common for web articles to misrepresent and misunderstand second hand information about science studies, where authors don't link to the original study, but I had hoped that Slashdot aimed for science education, as opposed to misrepresentative sensationalism.
The website of the university associated with the study paints a clearer picture:
"The authors cautioned that they only compared telomere length and sugar-sweetened soda consumption for each participant at a single time point, and that an association does not demonstrate causation. Epel is co-leading a new study in which participants will be tracked for weeks in real time to look for effects of sugar-sweetened soda consumption on aspects of cellular aging. Telomere shortening has previously been associated with oxidative damage to tissue, to inflammation, and to insulin resistance."
http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2014/...
Slashdot Mirror
I propose changing the headline, as it makes the claim that soda pop directly damages telomeres, while the study found no such causation or mechanism. It is fairly common for web articles to misrepresent and misunderstand second hand information about science studies, where authors don't link to the original study, but I had hoped that Slashdot aimed for science education, as opposed to misrepresentative sensationalism. The website of the university associated with the study paints a clearer picture: "The authors cautioned that they only compared telomere length and sugar-sweetened soda consumption for each participant at a single time point, and that an association does not demonstrate causation. Epel is co-leading a new study in which participants will be tracked for weeks in real time to look for effects of sugar-sweetened soda consumption on aspects of cellular aging. Telomere shortening has previously been associated with oxidative damage to tissue, to inflammation, and to insulin resistance." http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2014/...