Red wine can protect human cells against damage

New York, Dec 23: A substance found in red wine may protect the body against age-related diseases by stimulating an ancient evolutionary defence mechanism that protects human cells against damage, a US study has suggested. Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) found that the substance -- resveratrol -- once touted as an elixir of youth -- powerfully activates an evolutionarily ancient stress response in human cells. "This stress response represents a layer of biology that has been largely overlooked. Resveratrol turns out to activate it at much lower concentrations than those used in prior studies," said senior investigator Paul Schimmel, a professor and member of the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology at TSRI, US.