Yale University •

A new study shows that drinking coffee may reduce the risk of developing skin cancer. The study was conducted by a team of researchers who work at the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health and the Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

Erikka Loftfield, one of the scientists involved in the study, wanted to see if drinking coffee regularly could lower the risk of developing the deadliest form of skin cancer, melanoma.

According to the scientists, previous studies have shown that drinking coffee on a regular basis can protect against other forms of skin cancers that are not melanoma.

In order to find out the effects of coffee consumption on the melanoma, researchers gathered data from the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study, which involved 447,357 non-Hispanic white people who did not have cancer at the beginning of the study.

The participants had to fill in a questionnaire, saying how much coffee they consumed every day. The participants were monitored over a period of 10 and a half years. During this period, 2,905 of those who participated in the study had developed melanoma skin cancer.

The scientists discovered that the more coffee the participants drank each day, the risk of developing melanoma were lower. For example, the researchers found that those who drank four cups of coffee daily had a 20% lower risk of developing melanoma.

The results were the same even after the scientists accounted for the participants’ age, sex, body mass index, smoking history, alcohol intake and exposure to ultraviolet radiation. The UV radiation is one of the main risk factors for skin cancer.

The study also showed that those who had a lower risk of developing melanoma were those who consumed caffeinated coffee, not decaf. The scientists explained that drinking coffee could reduce the risk of malignant melanoma, not melanoma in situ, which means that the melanoma cells have yet to spread beyond the outer skin cells.

According to recent reports, more than half Americans drink 3.1 cups of coffee per day.

The recent study showing that coffee may help reduce the risk of developing skin cancer was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Image Source: dailytimes

A new study has found that cold temperatures might get you cold nose.

The study, conducted by the researchers at Yale University, found that common cold causing rhinovirus becomes more active at the temperatures lower than that of the average body.

Whether cold temperatures contribute in catching up a cold? — This had remained a million dollar question for a long time. But this new study has offered new outlook about this widely considered medical myth.

According to the researchers, even a bit chill raises the pace at which rhinovirus multiplies in lab mice.

The study, which was published on Monday, showed that cold temperatures also contribute in triggering changes in the body’s immune-system that allow the viruses to replicate virtually unchecked.

A previous study, conducted in the year 1960, found that the rhinovirus multiply at more quicker rate at 33 degrees Celsius (91.4 Fahrenheit) than at body’s normal temperature (37C, or 98.6F.).

The current study also extended the findings of 1960 by highlighting the three biological effects of chilly air that can raise the possibility of developing a cold.

The exposure to rhinovirus remains a prerequisite for catching cold nose. As soon as the viruses enter the cells of the nasal cavity, the inhalation of cold winter air exposes them to the chill. This triggers replication of the virus and also causes the body’s immune system to respond less aggressively.

The new study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Coffee May Help Reduce the Risk of Developing Skin Cancer, Recent Study Shows

Cold weather triggers common cold, says study

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