That Which Does Not Kill Brain Cells Only Makes Them Stronger?

Great news from the world of science and just in time for a three-day weekend holiday, too! According to Scientific American, researchers in New Zealand and Ohio report that drinking beer can enhance memory and cognition. To wit:

You may be hard-pressed to recall events after a night of binge drinking, but a new report suggests that low to moderate alcohol consumption may actually enhance memory.

"There are human epidemiological data of others indicating that mild [to] moderate drinking may paradoxically improve cognition in people compared to abstention," says Maggie Kalev, a research fellow in molecular medicine and pathology at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and a co-author of an article in The Journal of Neuroscience describing results of a study she and other researchers performed on rats. "This is similar to a glass of wine protecting against heart disease, however the mechanism is different."

Okay, so the study was done with rats. But rats are mammals. People are mammals. Suggestive? Why not try experimenting for yourselves?

Whole SciAm article here.