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Most people who drink alcohol will be familiar with the short-term effects of alcohol intoxication. The mild state of euphoria and feelings of relaxation are among the main reasons why humans have been producing and drinking alcohol for thousands of years, according to “Alcohol: Science, Policy and Public Health” (Oxford University Press, 2013). 

Similarly, most people are aware that excessive and chronic drinking can severely impact their physical and mental health. But the exact effects will depend on the amount of alcohol consumed and how frequently someone drinks it.

In the U.S., moderate drinking is limited to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (opens in new tab) (CDC). One drink refers to an equivalent of 0.6 ounce (14 grams) of pure alcohol. That amount can be found in a bottle of beer (5% alcohol content), a small glass of wine (12% alcohol content) or a shot of distilled spirits (40% alcohol content).      

According to the CDC (opens in new tab) , heavy drinking is defined as consuming eight or more drinks per week for women, and 15 or more drinks per week for a man. This is different to binge drinking, which the CDC defines as consuming five or more drinks on one occasion for men or four or more drinks on one occasion for women.What are the short-term effects of alcohol?

Short-term effects of alcohol consumption often include feelings of mild euphoria and a state of relaxation. This state is caused by temporary changes to brain signaling, said Sarah Boss (opens in new tab) , a psychiatrist in Spain and clinical director of The Balance Luxury Rehab, who specializes in addiction. 

“Alcohol can interfere with neurotransmitters, which are chemicals that help relay messages between neurons in the brain, leading to changes in mood, behavior and thinking,” she told Live Science.

According to the American Addiction Centers (opens in new tab) , short-term effects of moderate alcohol consumption may range from skin flushing and trouble concentrating to more severe symptoms, such as vomiting and passing out. Other effects of short-term alcohol use include loss of coordination, mood swings, raised blood pressure, dull vision and lowered inhibitions. 

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Then comes the effects of alcohol withdrawal, commonly referred to as a hangover. Hangover symptoms usually begin within several hours of a person’s last drink and they tend to vary from person to person. These can include headaches, exhaustion, nausea and dehydration, said Dr. Kathryn Basford (opens in new tab) , a medical doctor at ZAVA online doctor service in England. 

“Alcohol inhibits the body’s production of vasopressin, a hormone which tells the body to retain water in the kidneys,” Basford (opens in new tab) told Live Science. “Without this, water goes directly to the bladder and leaves the body dehydrated. The headache is the brain’s reaction to this loss of fluid, while the nausea and lack of energy is the body’s response to low blood sugar levels and the loss of the minerals and electrolytes which help the body to function properly.”

The more a person drinks, Basford said, the more likely it is that they are going to feel these effects, and the longer a person might take to recover. Related: What is ‘hangxiety’ and why do some people experience it? 

Hangover symptoms tend to pass within 24 hours of a person’s last drink and do not tend to produce lasting health problems.What are the long-term effects of alcohol consumption?

Long-term alcohol consumption can affect many aspects of physical and mental health. According to the American Addiction Centers (opens in new tab) , the main areas affected include the brain, digestive system, cardiovascular system and musculoskeletal system.    

(Image credit: Getty Images) Brain

According to Boss, there’s a lot of  scientific evidence to show that alcohol impacts the proper functioning of the brain, namely by affecting levels of neurotransmitters — chemical messengers in the brain. ALCOHOL GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT—Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

—Secular Organizations for Sobriety 

—Moderation Management 

“You may notice alcohol can cause wild mood swings,” she said. “This is because alcohol interacts with GABA, a neurotransmitter that helps to regulate mood and anxiety.” 

Alcohol also works as a central nervous system depressant, Boss said, which means it slows down the communication between the brain and the body. This can lead to impaired coordination, slurred speech, slowed reflexes and blackouts. Heavy drinking can also lead to other problems such as sleep disturbances.

Long-term alcohol use may even lead to changes in the brain’s structure. “Heavy drinking can kill brain cells,” Boss said. “This damage can lead to problems with memory, learning and coordination, as well as increases in anxiety [disorder] and depression.” 

Many of these changes in the brain happen on a molecular level. According to a 2021 review published in the journal Trends in Neurosciences (opens in new tab) , excessive drinking can disrupt gene expression in neurons, a process in which brain cells develop and connect with each other. These adaptations may be a key factor for developing alcohol use disorder, the researchers said.Heart 

Long-term alcohol use will also have an impact on cardiovascular health. According to a 2016 review published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (opens in new tab) , even modest amounts of alcohol may predispose someone to atrial fibrillation — a condition that causes an irregular heartbeat, dizziness and shortness of breath. 

How drinking affects heart health may depend on the amount of alcohol consumed, though the evidence is far from conclusive. Some studies indicate that low-to-moderate drinking may actually lower your risk of heart disease and stroke, according to a 2021 review published in the journal Nutrients (opens in new tab) . However, this is not well understood. A 2017 review published in the journal Alcohol Research (opens in new tab) suggests that low-to-moderate alcohol consumption may indirectly reduce atherosclerosis — a buildup of fatty plaques in and on the artery walls — and inflammation, as well as mitigate the effects of psychological stress on the cardiovascular system. 

Certain compounds found in alcoholic drinks could also play a role. For example, polyphenols found in red wine may protect against atherosclerosis, hypertension and heart failure, a 2016 review published in the journal Nutrients (opens in new tab) reported. Digestive health 

Excessive drinking can lead to liver damage and alcohol-related liver disease, according to a 2021 review published in the journal Alcohol Research (opens in new tab) . 

Alcohol affects other parts of the digestive system too. A 2014 review in the World Journal of Gastroenterology (opens in new tab) found that consuming more than five drinks a day can damage the pancreas, esophagus, stomach and intestinal tract. 

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Long-term alcohol consumption may also lead to poor gut health. According to a 2021 review published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences (opens in new tab) , excessive drinking may lead to changes in the gut microbiome,  by reducing diversity of microbes and causing an overgrowth of bacteria that promote inflammation, such as Proteobacteria. These alterations may lead to intestinal inflammation and leaky gut — a condition in which the intestinal walls become porous, enabling toxins and harmful pathogens to enter the bloodstream. 

Caitlin Hall, chief dietitian and head of clinical research at myota (opens in new tab) , said that these changes may be harmful to our general health. “One of the most important functions of the gut microbiome is to ferment dietary fibers and produce anti-inflammatory molecules called short chain fatty acids [SCFAs],” she told Live Science. “SCFAs are essential for our immune health, mental wellbeing and for reversing and preventing chronic diseases including diabetes and cancers. Cutting down on alcohol helps ensure that the microbiome can produce enough of these vital molecules.”  Immunity 

The immune system may also be affected by long-term alcohol use. According to a 2015 review published in the journal Alcohol Research (opens in new tab) , chronic heavy drinking may lead to a significant drop in the number of white blood cells responsible for combating infections and preventing cancers.  

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UK

Baby girl becomes first child in UK to be born from womb transplant

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Baby girl becomes first child in UK to be born from womb transplant

A baby girl has become the first child in the UK to be born from a womb transplant.

Grace Davidson, who received the transplant in 2023, said the birth of her daughter Amy Isabel was the “greatest gift we could ever have asked for”.

The 36-year-old, from north London, received the donated womb from her older sister, Amy.

It was the first time the procedure had taken place in the UK, and the birth will give hope to thousands of women born without a womb – like those with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome – or whose womb fails to function.

EDITORS NOTE IMAGE PIXELATED BY PA PICTURE DESK Handout photo dated 27/02/25 issued by Womb Transplant UK of Grace and Angus Davidson (front) with the hospital team at the birth of baby Amy Isabel Davidson.
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Grace and Angus Davidson with the hospital team at the birth of baby Amy. Pic: Womb Transplant UK/PA

Amy Isabel was named after her aunt, and a surgeon who helped perfect the technique, and was born by planned caesarean section on 27 February at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital in London.

Mrs Davidson, an NHS dietitian, said she felt “shock” when she first held her daughter, adding: “We have been given the greatest gift we could ever have asked for.

“It was just hard to believe she was real. I knew she was ours, but it’s just hard to believe.

“It sort of feels like there’s a completeness now where there maybe wasn’t before.”

Undated handout photo issued by Womb Transplant UK of Grace and Angus Davidson with baby Amy Isabel, and her aunt Amy.
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Aunt Amy Purdie (right) with the happy family. Pic: Womb Transplant UK/PA

Her husband Angus, 37, said: “The moment we saw her was incredible, and both of us just broke down in emotional tears – it’s hard to describe, it was elation.

“It had been such a long wait. We’d been intending to have a family somehow since we were married, and we’ve kind of been on this journey for such a long time.”

Womb transplantation is on the way to becoming an acceptable, life-giving procedure


Photo of Tom Clarke

Tom Clarke

Science and technology editor

@t0mclark3

The birth of Amy Isabel is not just a first for the UK, but an important step towards womb transplantation becoming an established medical procedure.

It was little more than a decade ago that the world’s first baby was born following a womb transplant in Sweden.

And not without eyebrows being raised by some in the world of medical ethics.

Not all womb transplants, whether from a living relative or from a deceased donor, are successful. And not all result in successful or uncomplicated pregnancies.

But the surgical team behind this UK success have achieved a one-for-one: a healthy baby born from the first womb transplant ever performed here.

Amy Isabel joins an estimated 50 other babies and children worldwide now born via a womb transplant.

And she won’t be the last.

Around 100 women in at least 10 countries have undergone the procedure – three transplants have taken place in the UK since Amy’s mother became the first in 2023.

A study of 33 womb transplants in the US found 74% of the transplants remained healthy after a year and 80% of those resulted in a successful birth.

But a womb transplant is unlikely to ever become “routine”.

While the number of eligible women – those lacking a functioning uterus but having healthy ovaries – might number in the low thousands in a country the size of the UK, not all would meet the strict medical criteria needed to maximise the chance of a successful transplant and subsequent birth.

And not all might choose it.

A successful birth following a womb transplant involves three major operations. The first to receive the transplanted womb, a caesarean section to deliver the baby, then a hysterectomy to remove the womb once the recipient mother decides to have no more children.

Given a womb transplant isn’t “life-saving”, ethics guidelines require the procedure to be temporary. The long-term risks of organ rejection, and the drugs needed to prevent it, are considered too great once the womb has served its miraculous function.

Some medical ethicists still question the procedure as a whole, arguing it is unnecessarily risky for both the mother and baby, especially babies are born seriously pre-term and at low birth weight.

However, this latest success, and the increasing number of healthy babies born via the procedure worldwide may change that.

Womb transplantation is on the way to becoming an acceptable, life-giving procedure for women who previously had no hope of carrying a baby of their own.

Mrs Davidson was born with Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser, a rare condition that affects around one in every 5,000 women. It means they have an underdeveloped or missing womb.

EMBARGOED TO 0001 TUESDAY APRIL 8..Undated handout photo issued by Womb Transplant UK of Grace Davidson with baby Amy Isabel, and her aunt Amy (right). Grace Davidson who received a womb in the UK's first womb transplant has given birth to a baby girl. Following the huge success of the procedure, Grace has given birth to baby Amy Isabel, named after her aunt Amy - who donated her womb - and Isabel Quiroga, the surgeon who helped perfect the technique. Amy was born by planned NHS Caesarean section on February 27 at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital in London. Issue date: Tuesday April 8, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story HEALTH Womb. Photo credit should read: Womb Transplant UK/PA Wire ...NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Image:
Grace with her sister Amy (right) and daughter. Pic: Womb Transplant UK/PA

However, the ovaries are intact and still function to produce eggs and female hormones, making conceiving via fertility treatment a possibility.

Before receiving the donated womb, Mrs Davidson and her husband underwent fertility treatment to create seven embryos, which were frozen for In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) in central London.

Mrs Davidson had surgery in February 2023 to receive the womb from her 42-year-old sister Amy Purdie, who is a mother to two girls aged 10 and six.

Read more:
AI could help more women get pregnant via IVF
Fertility patients offered unnecessary treatments – report

Several months later, one of the stored embryos was transferred via IVF to Mrs Davidson.

The baby weighed 4.5lbs and was delivered several weeks early to ensure a safe, hospital-based delivery.

Ms Purdie called the birth of her niece “worth every moment”.

Professor Richard Smith and Isabel Quiroga were the lead surgeons for the womb transplant and both were in the operating theatre when Amy was delivered, with her parents choosing her middle name in honour of Ms Quiroga.

Prof Smith, clinical lead at the charity Womb Transplant UK and consultant gynaecological surgeon at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, told Sky News that being in the operating theatre when Amy was delivered was “really quite remarkable”.

The medic said: “We’ve waited a very, very long time for this, and there’s been quite a lot of tears shed. Ironically the scariest bit of the day for me was when [Amy’s] mum and dad asked me to hold their baby, which was incredible.”

Ms Quiroga, consultant surgeon at the Oxford Transplant Centre, part of Oxford University Hospitals, told Sky News it was “quite a complex procedure” and “the pressure was immense when we did the transplant”.

But she said it was “totally amazing to see all that effort” and it has “been totally worth it”.

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Technology

Apple’s 3-day loss in market cap swells to almost $640 billion

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Apple's 3-day loss in market cap swells to almost 0 billion

(L-R) Apple CEO Tim Cook, Vivek Ramaswamy and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem attend the inauguration ceremony before Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th U.S. President in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025.

Saul Loeb | Afp | Getty Images

While the stock market broadly fared better on Monday than in the prior two trading days, Apple got hammered once again, losing 3.7%, as concerns mounted that the company will take a major hit from President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The sell-off brings Apple’s three-day rout to 19%, a downdraft that has wiped out $638 billion in market cap.

Apple is one of the most exposed companies to a trade war, analyst say, due largely to its reliance on China, which is facing 54% tariffs. Although Apple has production in India, Vietnam and Thailand, those countries also face increased tariffs as part of Trump’s sweeping plan.

Among tech’s megacap companies, Apple is having the roughest stretch. On Monday, the only stocks to drop in that group of seven were Apple, Microsoft and Tesla.

The Nasdaq finished almost barely up on Monday after plummeting 10% last week, its worst performance in more than five years.

Analysts say Apple will likely either need to raise prices or eat additional tariff costs when the new duties come into effect. UBS analysts estimated on Monday that Apple’s highest-end iPhone could rise in price by about $350, or around 30%, from its current price of $1,199.

Barclays analyst Tim Long wrote that he expects Apple to raise prices, or the company could suffer as much as a 15% cut to earnings per share. Apple may also be able to rearrange its supply chain so that imports to the U.S. come from other countries with lower tariffs.

Apple declined to comment on the tariffs.

WATCH: Apple plummets on Trump tariffs

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Environment

BYD’s new Qin L EV is off to a hot start with +10,000 sold in its first week

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BYD's new Qin L EV is off to a hot start with +10,000 sold in its first week

The stylish new electric sedan is the size of a Tesla Model 3, but it’s about half the cost at under $17,000. BYD’s Qin L EV is already off to a hot start, with over 10,000 sold in its first week on the market. Here’s a look at the new midsize model.

Meet BYD’s new Qin L EV

After launching the Qin L EV on March 24, BYD called it “the most attractive choice for young people in the era of intelligent driving.” Well, it’s already off to a good start.

The sleek new electric sedan starts at just 119,800 yuan, or roughly $16,500. That is nearly half the cost of a Tesla Model 3 in China, which starts at 235,500 yuan ($32,500).

At 4,720 mm long, 1,880 mm wide, 1,495 mm tall, and a wheelbase of 2,820 mm, the Qin L EV is a direct competitor to the Model 3 (4,720 mm long, 1,848 mm wide, and 1,442 mm tall, wheelbase of 2,875 mm) in China.

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After just a week on the market, BYD’s new EV already looks like a hit. The company announced it sold over 10,000 Qin L EVs in its first week.

It’s available with two BYD Blade battery packs, 46.08 kWh and 56.64 kWh, providing 470 km (292 miles) and 545 km (338 miles) CLTC range. BYD says it can also fast charge (30% to 80%) in 24 minutes.

The cheapest Model 3 (RWD) in China is rated with up to 634 km (394 miles) on the CLTC rating scale. For 275,500 yuan ($38,000), the Extended Range Model 3 offers up to 713 km (443 miles).

Like all of its new EVs, the Qin L is equipped with BYD’s “God’s Eye” smart driving tech, which includes functions like navigation on autopilot and remote-control parking.

The interior is based on BYD’s refreshed design with a 15.6″ floating infotainment, 12″ W-HUD, and 8.8″ driver display screens. It also includes its premium DiLink 100 smart cockpit system with voice control, 5G connectivity, integrated DeepSeek AI, and more.

Higher-end trims even include a built-in mini fridge that can heat and cool. However, even the most expensive model starts at just 139,800 yuan ($19,300).

Would you buy BYD’s Qin L EV for under $20,000? It looks like a steal. Let us know what you think of it in the comments.

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