/oss/taxonomy/term/1546/all en /oss/article/health-history/gin-mania <p>Between 1715 and 1750 there were more deaths than births in London, with the greatest mortality among children. Many of these deaths were due to fetal alcohol syndrome as unhappy mothers-to-be sought solace in gin. And unhappiness was the rule, not the exception, and it wasn’t limited to pregnant women.</p> Wed, 15 Jan 2020 21:26:05 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8078 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/malaria-reason-behind-gin-and-tonic <p>Malaria kills around <a href="https://www.who.int/malaria/en/">400 thousand individuals annually</a>. It’s the result of a bodily infection by single-celled parasitic organisms from the<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasmodium"> </a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasmodium"><i>Plasmodium</i></a> genus and causes fever, vomiting, chills and body aches. There is some good news though.</p> Thu, 27 Sep 2018 16:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7368 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/how-much-alcohol-alcohol <p>In most of the world alcohol content is measured <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_by_volume#Alcohol_by_weight">by volume</a>. This gives us the familiar 12.5% on the side of a wine bottle. But what does this percentage really mean? </p> Wed, 24 Jan 2018 14:03:06 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 6900 at /oss /oss/article/health-quirky-science/ginwithout-tonic <p>While there is no scientific evidence that gin has any medicinal benefit, one piece of folklore has persisted. That’s the use of gin-soaked raisins to treat arthritis. The common recipe is to take a box of golden raisins, soak them in gin for a few weeks until the gin evaporates and then eat nine a day. Various explanations have been forwarded as to why this works, usually speculating about anti-inflammatory compounds in juniper berries or in the raisins. Pretty far-fetched speculation given the tiny amounts of these compounds present.</p> Fri, 14 Mar 2014 09:10:57 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2113 at /oss