AVOID THE SMOKE SCREEN

          We know cigarettes can suck the life out of a person’s face, wrinkling it like a pug’s mug.  But the skin damage doesn’t end there.  After comparing people who had puffed for at least 10 years with those who had never inhaled, University of Michigan researchers found that smoking doubles the number of wrinkles on you body.  The cause of the calamity: Tobacco may damage collagen, a protein that keeps skin tight, says study author Yolanda Helfrich, M.D.  Even exposure to secondhand smoke can age your epidermis.

A CREEPY CURE

          Carnegie Mellon scientists have created a robotic caterpillar-like device that can be placed on a patient’s heart through keyhole surgery.  Once there, the device inches across the organ’s surface to deliver treatment.  The procedure is minimally invasive and carries a significantly lower risk of complications and scarring than open-heart surgery does.  The robo-bug has already been used to fit pigs with pace-maker wirings.  Further testing is currently under way.

WIN IN THE HOME STRETCH

          How you move can improve your mood.  Boston University researchers found stretching may relieve depression.  They took brain scans of eight adults before and after a 60-minute yoga session and noticed a 27 percent increase in the neurotransmitter gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA).  When GABA levels are low, so are your spirits, says study author Chris Streeter, M.D.  Try this yoga pose: Place your hands against the wall at chest level.  Step back until your body is bent 90 degrees at the hips, and push against the wall, keeping you neck in line with your spine.  Hold for 2 minutes.  Find more poses at Menshealth.com/yoga.