>> A gene for creative alcoholics? Apparently the G-variant of the mu-opioid receptor “makes ethanol behave more like an opioid drug, such as morphine, with a stronger than normal effect on mood and behaviour.” People with this gene reported “stronger feelings of happiness and elation … usually followed by a longer state of relaxation, lasting several hours.” (via Utne)

This would explain why alcohol felt more like a stimulant to me, letting me get a lot more done if I drank while working. Unfortunately, “People with this gene variant also seem more prone to alcoholism, perhaps engaging in an increasingly vain pursuit of the highs they used to experience after the first drink or two.”

>> Local school lunches aren’t expensive, say the people who’re thinking outside the microwave. Baltimore public schools’ food service director Tony Geraci “found farmers who would sell him, and deliver, all the peaches they could grow—for less than he would pay for commodity peaches packed in syrup. Even commodity apples are more expensive than small ones from local farms.”

>> Organic ice creams for the lactose intolerant. Grist rates a bunch and the coconut milk-based ones win out, including Coconut Bliss.

Photo by Don LaVange

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