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Wonderful Wine

Drinking red wine is good for your health. This is well known, but a new study reports that it contains a compound, Resveratrol, which is the elixir of life. Scientists have searched for a substance to stop aging(1) for centuries, and Dr David Sinclair of Harvard Medical School says he has discovered it. His team combined live yeast(2) and Resveratrol. Surprisingly, the yeast samples(3) didn't die, instead they lived 60 per cent longer. The compound turns on genes(4) which increase longevity and Sinclair is now developing drugs to cure diseases of aging, such as diabetes, cancer and even Alzheimer's disease. He compares his breakthrough(5) to the discovery of antibiotics: people lived 40 years on average before their introduction. His discovery will not only increase the length, but also the quality of our lives.

Matéria publicada na revista Speak Up edição 232 - Setembro/2006