Short On Sleep? Don't Forget To Drink Water

Short on sleep? Don’t forget to drink water

In a Pennsylvania State University study involving more than 20,000 participants, people who said they got only six hours of sleep regularly ran a greater risk of dehydration than those who got eight hours. The reason might lie with a hormone called vasopressin, which helps regulate the body’s fluid levels. It’s released in greater quantities later in the sleep cycle, so people getting less shut­eye might not have the optimal amount of it. If you know you’re short on slumber, make a point of drinking water.

Ten-Minute Cancer Test

Australian researchers have developed a test that can detect cancer cells in ten minutes with 90 percent accuracy. Healthy DNA and cancer DNA, it turns out, stick to metal surfaces differently. When cancer DNA is added to water mixed with gold nanoparticles, which give the water a pink appearance, the water retains its rosy hue; when healthy DNA is added, it binds to the nanoparticles in a way that turns the water blue. Because the test is cheap and simple, it could be used as an initial screening at your primary care physician’s office, with follow-up if necessary. Researchers are now working toward clinical tests with patients who have various types of cancer.

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