Earlier today, the Discovery Channel’s Discovery News tumblr re-blogged a post by The Week Magazine that caught my eye:
A drink formulated by NASA scientists to protect astronauts from the sun’s radiation could become a hot-selling, age-defying beauty product. New research suggests that AS10, or “space drink,” can noticeably reduce facial wrinkles and obvious signs of aging in as little as four months.
The article on The Week, which credits the New York Daily News and reads exactly like a press release, can be found here. The article claims, among other things, that:
A team of researchers from the University of Utah had nearly 200 participants, mostly women, drink two ounces of the stuff a day. After four months, dermatologists examined visa photographs — which use different light exposures to reveal the condition of the skin below the surface — taken before and after the experiment. They were wowed by the drink’s “dramatic effects” on the face, including a 30 percent reduction of UV spots (dark blemishes), and a 17 percent reduction in the amount of wrinkles.
Looks like The Week and the Discovery News blog have been taken along for a ride, because the first comment in that story includes a link to an article debunking any NASA or University of Utah involvement with the story.
In summary: the University of Utah says that they have nothing to do with the researcher who is quoted and NASA has nothing to do with this research.
Remember kids, just because you read something on the Internet, doesn’t mean it’s true.
