Turning on light for midnight toilet visit causes cancer

[Darth Avlectus]

Ever get the feeling some researchers just have too much time on their hands?

http://www.newser.com/story/85837/pe...id-cancer.html

(Newser) – First came the advice that we should all pee in the shower to save the water it takes to flush the toilet. Now, apparently, we should pee in the dark. Researchers in the UK and Israel have found that turning on the light in the middle of the night triggers an "over-expression" of cells linked to the formation of cancer, in the part of the brain linked to the circadian clock.

Okay, the findings are based on subjecting mice to an hour of light every night. But the researchers are quick to conclude that if you're making a middle-of-the-night bathroom run you should avoid flipping on the light, reports the Daily Mail. 'We believe that any turning on of artificial light in the night has an impact on the body clock. It's a very sensitive mechanism."

Hoo boy, let's go take a look at the original article.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/ar....html?ITO=1490

Simply turning on a light at night for a few seconds to go to the toilet can cause changes that might lead to cancer, scientists claim.

Researchers in the UK and Israel found that when a light is turned on at night, it triggers an 'over-expression' of cells linked to the formation of cancer.

Previous research has linked an increased risk of breast cancer and prostate cancer in workers exposed to artificial light on night shifts.

But researchers said the latest research is the first that shows even short-term exposure can be linked to an increased risk of cancer.

The tests were carried out on mice at Leicester University by geneticist Professor Charalambos Kyriacou.

During the trial, a group of mice were exposed to a light for one hour. When compared with mice who had been kept in the dark, changes were found in cells in the brain responsible for the circadian clock which controls body function.

Dr Rachel Ben-Shlomo, of the University of Haifa, said in the journal Cancer Genetics and Cytogenetics that people waking at night would be best advised not to turn on the light.

She said: 'We believe that any turning on of artificial light in the night has an impact on the body clock. It's a very sensitive mechanism.

'If you want to get up to go to the toilet, you should avoid reaching for the light switch. There are some plug-in lights that just glow, that are safe and you could use them as an alternative.'

She added: 'These latest findings are preliminary research and we are now looking into this area in more detail.'

My my my. Does the beginning of Cheech and Chong "up in smoke" come to mind?

These people, I tell ya. What next? They going to endorse bedwetting as a life extender?

[Pavlos]

It's the Daily Mail, it's on a quest to divide all inanimate objects into things that cause cancer and things that cure cancer. I'm not joking, either. Clicking here will provide evidence for this.

The scientists and articles involved will have been purposefully misrepresented to scare the reader base...

[RC-1162]

Well, no human being takes an hour to pee so I guess we're all cool.

Plus if you break your head after slipping on a puddle that you didn't see in the dark, then cancer is the least of your worries, I bet.

[Totenkopf]

Originally Posted by Pavlos

It's the Daily Mail, it's on a quest to divide all inanimate objects into things that cause cancer and things that cure cancer. I'm not joking, either. Clicking here will provide evidence for this.

The scientists and articles involved will have been purposefully misrepresented to scare the reader base...

Hey, they forgot the most important one of all........LIFE causes cancer.

[Phantom Knight]

what doesnt cause cancer, nowadays

[LordOfTheFish]

Originally Posted by Phantom Knight

what doesnt cause cancer, nowadays

QFT

[Salzella]

Originally Posted by Pavlos

It's the Daily Mail, it's on a quest to divide all inanimate objects into things that cause cancer and things that cure cancer. I'm not joking, either. Clicking here will provide evidence for this.

The scientists and articles involved will have been purposefully misrepresented to scare the reader base...

This. it's a ridiculous excuse for a newspaper.

[JediMaster12]

I find this article to be rather of the comic variety. Now I know where my tax dollars go to in terms of research funding

[TSR]

Originally Posted by RC-1162

Plus if you break your head after slipping on a puddle that you didn't see in the dark, then cancer is the least of your worries, I bet.

Clean the toilet mebe?

The Mail is a pretentious rag. I use it to soak up oil spills at the most.

It's like California, but in a smaller format.

[Darth Avlectus]

^^^I lol'd. Californian here.

Yeah, I wasn't really receiving this as anything but comedy. I actually first came across it as ELawshea's shock news stories channel on youtube. I go to him when I need a good laugh or a WTF?! moment.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ELawshea

[Pavlos]

Originally Posted by TSR

The Mail is a pretentious rag. I use it to soak up oil spills at the most.

Saying it's pretentious implies it has pretensions. It doesn't, it aims further downward every day. If Americans think that their news stations are bad then they should read some British newspapers...

[Darth Avlectus]

Well, we have tabloids but I don't know if that comic strip compares anywhere near the prestige of something like these papers. The papers in USA are largely dying so entertainment is what will have to suffice I guess.

[Darth333]

Meh! The less cleaning to do, the better (5 less minutes of cleaning per day = 1825 hours saved over 60 yrs...so, I'd rather pee in the dark and take a sabbatical and relax - doesn't stress causes health problems too anyway? )...besides, there's no telling what you can die from as RC-1162 said above...or you could simply fall down the stairs in the dark without even having had the time to pee...

[Totenkopf]

Originally Posted by Darth333

Meh! The less cleaning to do, the better (5 less minutes of cleaning per day = 1825 hours saved over 60 yrs...so, I'd rather pee in the dark and take a sabbatical and relax - doesn't stress causes health problems too anyway? )...besides, there's no telling what you can die from as RC-1162 said above...or you could simply fall down the stairs in the dark without even having had the time to pee...

which will naturally take care of itself at that point.

[Darth Avlectus]

Originally Posted by Darth333

Meh! The less cleaning to do, the better (5 less minutes of cleaning per day = 1825 hours saved over 60 yrs...so, I'd rather pee in the dark and take a sabbatical and relax - doesn't stress causes health problems too anyway? )...besides, there's no telling what you can die from as RC-1162 said above...or you could simply fall down the stairs in the dark without even having had the time to pee...

Oh that's right, women don't really have that problem--we guys tend to stand.

Though I agree, you can slip and hit your head in the shower/tub and die from it.

[Ctrl Alt Del]

I'm sure the next big breakthrough they'll make will be that cancer can be an STD.

[urluckyday]

Studies like this are the reason why we haven't found a cure for cancer, AIDS, Ebola, the Common Cold, etc.

While I don't think that those diseases are the only things that should be studied, studies such as this one don't really add to anything!

btw...I'm screwed because I have my computer on in the dark all the time...I assume that's the same kind of artificial light breaking out in the dark...

[Mav]

^^^
You are wrong, this study has taught me the valuable skill of pissing by echo location...

[Darth Avlectus]

Sonar is cool.

[Ztalker]

Originally Posted by Mav

^^^
You are wrong, this study has taught me the valuable skill of pissing by echo location...

*resists Batman joke*

Stupid research...I need to get down some stairs before I can pee and I have no interest in traveling that stairs in a fast vertical way...

[RedHawke]

Originally Posted by Mav

^^^
You are wrong, this study has taught me the valuable skill of pissing by echo location...

You have to learn that? Man you youngins are slackers!

[Jae Onasi]

Originally Posted by Mav

^^^
You are wrong, this study has taught me the valuable skill of pissing by echo location...

You know, no matter how many times I try that standing up, my legs still get wet.