Wednesday, November 5, 2014

coffee causes a nee future in genetics

In Boston, Massachusetts a group of geneticists from Harvard School of Public Health looked at the effect of habitual coffee drinking and how people start to form new genetic responses to it. The scientists took 12,000 habitual coffee drinkers from European and African American descent. Within the study they identified two variants that are linked to genes which is, POR and ABCG2. Those two variants code for the effects of caffeine that we like, the reward. The variants are linked too other two variants BDNF and SLC6A4 that were found near POR and ABCG2. It is proven that people take different doses of caffeine dependent on their caffeine intake metabolism so that they experience the effects that they are looking for. Coffee consumption and how it is becoming "addicting" is being put in the same genetic field as alcohol and smoking consumption.
I believe in what these researchers are saying, in my experience of drinking coffee that on a long span of drinking it the first week ill drink one cup and the effects would be great, then the same dose of coffee the second and third week would feel like it had no effect at all. This is the same effect of alcohol and smoking. Caffeine is something that is becoming more serious and many people are relying on it to function in their daily lives.

Article Link:http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/genetic-variants-linked-with-coffee-drinking/

2 comments:

  1. Anna, I agree with you and this study that caffeine in coffee is completely addicting. Like you said, the first week of the semester I can be satisfied with one cup, but my the end of the semester, I may need a few cups of coffee a day to get me through the day. However, like they found in the study, that it is normal for people to take different doses of caffeine. I think everyone is different and just like alcohol or smoking, someone may need a little more or a little less than someone else to fulfill their needs. I wish you went into more detail about the variants that they tested because I'm curious what there full effect is on the caffeine that we feel like we need to consume.

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  2. I feel the same. If I used to be able to have one cup of coffee and feel fine, now I need two or three to get through an entire day to feel completely awake. I think caffeine can be an addiction just like smoking or drinking could be. This article was very interesting.

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