[Graeme]

Kiwi boffins prove that booze makes you clever

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')t last, scientists have delivered conclusive proof of what many people instinctively knew - booze makes you clever.

Top boffins at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, by studying the mental performance of specially-created transgenic rats well supplied with drink, have found that moderate daily alcohol intake conferred "heightened cognition".

Kiwi brainbox Maggie Kalev said she "thought it was worth pursuing, since ethanol drinking is such a common pattern of human behaviour... This is similar to a glass of wine protecting against heart disease, however the mechanism is different".

Scientific American covered the pleasing biological breakthrough last week, under the headline "Don't forget: Drink a Beer - or Two - Daily!"

That, of course, is excellent health advice; now backed up by cutting edge Kiwi genetically modified alco-rat research. But in fact it doesn't have to be beer, and Kalev says the brain-enhancement effects kick in at "approximately one to two drinks per day for some people or two to three for others, depending upon their size, metabolism, or genetic background" - based on the equivalent blood alcohol levels to those found in her thirsty mutant rats, anyway.


So the best thing is to have a couple of beers each and every day without fail, even if you don't want them. Or you could have wine instead, and so benefit your heart as well as your brain. Skipping days is bad for you; especially if you then try to catch up later and drink several days' dose of brain-booster in a oner.

[Harlequin]

Are there other studies to back this up?

I wouldn't believe it yet...