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Study after study seems to conclude that resveratrol and related compound found in red wine have health benefits, despite the fact that red wine also contains a potent toxin, ethanol.

Now, Richard Hoffman and Conny Johansson working at the University of Hertfordshire, England, have carried out tests on a random selection of red wines to determine the levels of resveratrol.

Resveratrol is a natural antioxidant found in red wine and red grape skins, thought to protect against a range of illnesses and diseases including neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s or other dementias, cancer and heart disease. According to Hoffman, this is the first time a systematic study of resveratrol levels in a range of wines has been carried out.

Hoffman and Johansson used HPLC LC-MS to separate and collect the compounds found in the wines. “We assume that all red wines are the same,” he says, “but we have found this is certainly not the case as the levels of resveratrol vary between labels.”

The researchers hope to be able to recommend the healthiest bottle of red wine based on resveratrol levels and will soon begin working with wine suppliers and retailers to include health indicators on bottles. As ever, such research is not an excuse to drink red wine (shame), but will at least allow those who drink it the chance to offset some of the detrimental effects of the ethanol against the positive effects of the resveratrol. Almost like carbon offsetting in environmental policy, but for drinkers.

InChI=1/C14H12O3/c15-12-5-3-10(4-6-12)1-2-11-7-13(16)9-14(17)8-11/h1-9,15-17H

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Forget Spiderman, Geckoman is where it’s at, at least so suggests research due to be published in the Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter. According to Nicola Pugno at the Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy, the secret of making a sticky, but non-stick, material could lie in creating a “hierarchical structure” of branching bristles from ever finer carbon nanotubes. Such a bristly material would mimic the physical properties of gecko feet that allow them to hang effortlessly by a single pad from even the smoothest of surfaces.

Pugno’s calculations suggest that the hierarchical approach could lead to a stiff, non-tangling material with tips flexible enough for temporary adhesion. Previously, the research team has suggested that carbon nanotubes might allow us to build a space elevator, which was blogged about at length in the summer of 2006.

According to a report in New Scientist, Stefano Mezzasalma of the University of Trieste in Italy says the approach definitely could work, “The first prototype of a Spiderman suit might be ready in a decade or so.” But, like I say, move over Spiderman, it’s Geckoman we want to see!

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With Vioxx, Arcoxia, and potentially all COX2 inhibitors nixed, to what can sufferers of osteoarthritis turn? Many have sought relief in the supposedly natural ingredients of healthy joints - chondroitin and its agent glucosamine. However, there was scant evidence that taking these two compounds together had any benefits whatsoever beyond the anecdotal claims of some users convinced they worked.

Now, a team in Switzerland, where chondroitin is regularly prescribed as a health supplement, have demonstrated that the compound is no more effective in easing hip and knee pain in osteoarthritis than a placebo. Moreover, Peter Juni of the University of Berne suggests that its use should be discouraged.

Chondroitin sulfate is commonly taken as a health supplement because of a supposed association with the benefits in terms of joint “lubrication”. It is usually taken in combination with glucosamine because this compound allegedly acts as a carrier. However, there is no evidence that any individual is ever deficient in glucosamine and the benefits of supplementary chondriotin have not been proved. At best, results have been mixed.

The researchers at the University of Berne in Switzerland, conducted a meta review of data from 20 trials that included more than 3,600 patients with osteoarthritis and found that chondroitin apparently had no effect in relieving osteoarthritis. Details are published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Juni says there is no evidence which suggests that chondroitin helps decrease pain more than a placebo.

InChI=1/C13H21NO15S/c1-2(15)14-3-8(7(19)13(28-11(3)22)29-30(23,24)25)26-12-6(18)4(16)5(17)9(27-12)10(20)21/h3-9,11-13,16-19,22H,1H3,(H,14,15)(H,20,21)(H,23,24,25)/t3-,4+,5+,6-,7-,8-,9+,11-,12-,13-/m1/ s1/f/h14,20,23H

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