On the upswing

Good morning Staker! Here’s what’s cookin’ today. Wine takes its place on the non-alcoholic shelf; study suggests inhibiting a protein can end chronic pain; and Alice Cooper says stunts are safe, but they could also kill him.

Let’s get into it!

As consumers continue to become more health conscious and even ambivalent towards alcohol, wineries are attempting to meet them in the middle.

Using techniques typically reserved for those producing nonalcoholic beverages, some are producing wines that contain less alcohol and fewer calories.

“While no- and low-alcohol beverages remain a relatively small segment, moderation has evolved from a seasonal trend into a year-round behavior, giving consumers more choices for different occasions,” said Perris Fiori, senior vice president of marketing for Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. 

Chateau Ste. Michelle offers a line of low ABV wines called LIGHT, which contain 9% alcohol and just 80 calories.

“The 9% ABV target was intentional. It allowed us to meaningfully reduce calories and alcohol while still preserving balance, flavor, and structure in the finished wine,” she said, while noting the lower calorie count actually may be a bigger selling point.

“Our research suggests that consumers are often more focused on calories than alcohol percentage. ABV can be confusing, including what is considered high or low, and how it relates to calorie content.”

Consumers are willing to spend more on wine if calorie counts are lower. According to marketing firm Circana, low-calorie wine sales have risen 133% in the last five years, and 637% for $15+, low-calorie wines.

Researchers at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine conducted a study that may have found a solution to chronic pain.

In most instances of unending pain, the body’s ability to process any sensation ends up kicked into overdrive, both intensifying the pain, and overwhelming the emotions. While painkillers like opioids mask the pain, the researchers identified a way that may actually stop it.

They identified a protein called RGS4, which is found in the “lumbar dorsal root ganglia,” or a group of sensor-processing nerves near the base of the spine. During their experiment, the researchers inhibited the protein, thereby returning the body to a state of calm.

"Our findings suggest that one reason pain may become chronic is that sensory nerves themselves undergo molecular changes that keep them unusually sensitive," said corresponding author Venetia Zachariou, Ph.D., Edward Avedisian Professor and chair of the department of pharmacology, physiology and biophysics at the school.

"By reducing RGS4 activity, our models were allowed to recover from abnormal pain sensitivity, while increasing RGS4 could make otherwise uninjured models more sensitive to pain. Importantly, the main players that control the maintenance of chronic pain in experimental models are expressed in human nerve tissue as well, suggesting that RGS4 could work the same way in people."

Canada is home to the second biggest Irish diaspora in the world, meaning every now and then, some of the 4.5 million descendants of the Emerald Isle fancy a visit back home.

That apparently includes this Canadian Coast Guard buoy, which broke free of its stationary shackles and travelled all the way across the Atlantic Ocean, making port on Achill Island, which is about 140 km northwest of Galway.

Buoys come in plenty of colors, but fittingly, this one clearly knew where it was destined to end up, donning its natural green and a corrosion-induced orange, making up the colors of the Irish flag itself.

The Canadian Coast Guard informed the Mayo County Council of its surprise visitor, letting it know that its buoys are “very friendly,” but have a tendency to wander off.

The Irish are making efforts to retrieve the 3.5-ton marker, lest it fall back into the sea, posing a potential hazard to marine traffic or coastal infrastructure like sea walls, docks, or parked vessels.

According to a release by the Mayo County Council, the visitor is a reminder of the historical relationship Canada and Ireland share, though it set forth some cheeky conditions for the marker’s return to Canada.

“Should the Canadians wish to see their buoy again, they may have to make a special trip to Mayo to collect it,” the release said.

Alice Cooper’s song Welcome To My Nightmare may really describe the onstage brushes with death he has during basically every show he plays.

The shock rocker’s Vaudevillian alter ego doesn’t really behead or hang himself on stage, but the singer says he comes closer than most people probably think.

“The guillotine misses me by that much,” Cooper recently told CBS’ Anthony Mason, describing a few inches of wiggle room. “It’s a 40 pound blade. But I know how to do it.”

“…Especially the hanging. I can’t tell you how it works, but it stops right before [it kills me]—and it might not!

He also described how snakes used to be one of his own fears, which made him realize they’d be great props. What he didn’t realize was they’d also make great performers.

“A snake is automatically terrifying to most people. So I said, ‘That’s perfect for Alice…the only thing they’re afraid of is you dropping them.’

“I had snakes on stage, I swear, that were performing. I had one…Eva Marie Snake, I think her name was, and she’d get up there and she’d know she was on…Some of the others were just like,’Uh, yeah…’ but there were two or three that were actually conscious of being on stage!”

Around the office we expected Butterscotch to take the title…but what we didn’t expect was all the love for Butter Rum 🤣 Thanks to the fans who wrote in!

Sounds of October

So many artists hit the charts with great music released in October, and that’s our theme for today’s trivia!

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