“In what could lead to a major advance in the treatment of prostate cancer, scientists now know exactly why polyphenols in red wine and green tea inhibit cancer growth. This new discovery explains how antioxidants in red wine and green tea produce a combined effect to disrupt an important cell signaling pathway necessary for prostate cancer growth.
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Cheers!
Every now and then you read a study from a research university that just seems completely pointless. One study (source = Newsweek) recently that said people who are not considered attractive have “less chance of getting married.” Wow! Did they have a team of brain-dead chimps work on that?
Now comes another pointless study in that vein from our fellow Big Ten (going on Big 16) brethren Penn State. Known as the home of meteorologists, Beaver Stadium, and a football coach who fought at Gettysburg, Penn State set their formidable research talents on soda consumption among children.
It turns out (shockingly!) that girls who consume soda at age five are not as well nourished as girls who do not. Seriously. Not only did they engage in the most useless study ever, they tracked these girls for TEN YEARS! You know, just in case soda consumption turned out to be a positive dietary aspect. One of the more shocking revelations from this study is that the soda drinkers had an increased sugar intake. Thank goodness for higher education.
Don’t take this as Penn State bashing, I’ve been to State College and from what I remember I had an outstanding time. The campus is beautiful and I love the old school football uniforms. But please, devote your research time and money to something a little less obvious next time. Why don’t they next study what it is about Guy Fieri that people like and find a way to remove that gene. For the sake of all humanity.
After re-reading John’s thought provoking expose on Pringles from around the world, I decided to expand the search of quirky products in foreign markets to soda, and specifically Pepsi.
Japan – Pepsi Ice Cucumber
Finally, the refreshing burst of cucumber flavor in a soda! Pepsi plus pickle juice, how can that be bad? At first I thought Pepsi Ice was like regular Pepsi, but with a higher alcohol content. Might almost make drinking cucumber soda palatable. Sorry to break the bad news, but this was a one shot deal available only in summer of 2007. Ebay, anyone?
Russia – Pepsi Ice Cream
You would think our Russian friends would get to have a Pepsi product that mixed well with Stolichnaya. Think again…Pepsi Ice Cream, which sounds like bottled Pepsi Float is actually just cream soda, but with a different marketing hook. Makes you wonder why they never tried it here?
Japan – Pepsi Shiso
Shiso is from the mint family, and has a flavor somewhat similar to basil. Basil flavored soda actually sounds intriguing, but a glance at the bottle makes it look like something bottled from the stream outside the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Why not serve up raw Blinky wrapped in seaweed to go with it?
Europe – Pepsi Boom
Pepsi Boom makes you think they went all Guy Fieri on their beverage, right? Well, if going Guy Fieri means creating a product bereft of any value, than I suppose so. Pepsi Boom is Pepsi with no caffeine, no sugar, and no artificial sweetener. Than what the hell is it? Carmel color and water? I’d rather listen to Rammstein than drink Pepsi Boom.