BioBeer: This Bud's for Cancer

Imagine a beer that can prevent cancer and heart disease—even stave off aging. Researchers at Rice University are attempting to craft just such a concoction, reports Computerworld, using a genetically modified strain of yeast that produces resveratrol, the same disease-busting compound found in red wine. The team hopes to bottle a brew that packs a consistently stronger resveratrol punch than wine.

“The amount of red wine you'd need to drink to is about half a bottle a day" to get any health benefit, said one researcher, who says he's “fairly confident” the Rice experiment will work. It could be at least five years before so-called BioBeer hits the shelves. Meanwhile, the team is working with a local brewery on another important hurdle: taste.
(More Rice University stories.)