Caffeine

A new study has found caffeine consumption can reduce the volume of gray matter in the human brain. The researchers stress these findings do not imply caffeine negatively impacts the brain but the drug may induce a kind of temporary neural plasticity.

A new review encompassing dozens of observational studies and meta-analyses suggests there is no safe level of caffeine consumption during pregnancy. The review calls for a “radical revision” to health recommendations but not all experts agree with the findings.

A team of scientists has created a mathematical model for what they say is the ideal coffee, recommending that a less-is-more approach could lead baristas to produce one heavenly espresso after another, using around a quarter fewer beans.

Caffeine has long been considered an effective appetite-suppressant, and it's been shown to effectively speed up the body’s fat metabolism processes. Now, research has homed in on another mechanism that may explain caffeine’s anti-obesity properties.

Adding fuel to the endless coffee debates comes the latest large study. This time, researchers looked at data from over 300,000 people for possible links between coffee and cancer, and found it neither gave, nor prevented us from getting cancers. It's just a tasty beverage after all then.

Nitro-infusion cold-brew is a big thing among coffee aficionados, but most of us need to go to a specialist coffee shop to get our fix – and it's not a cheap fix. Portland's GrowlerWerks has come up with an alternative for us. Nitro cold-brewing (and storing, and pouring) in our own homes.

The placenta may be one of the least understood organs, but it’s important to study its effects on the health of a developing fetus. Researchers at Iowa State University have used microfluidic models of the organ, a placenta-on-a-chip, to see if, and how much, caffeine can cross from mother to baby.

A new study offers insight into the oft-cited correlation between coffee consumption and a decreased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. The discovery reveals a coffee compound called EHT works synergistically with caffeine to potentially protect the brain from neurodegeneration.

Research has revealed that people with a preference for drinking coffee over tea tend to display a genetic variant that signals a higher sensitivity to tasting bitterness in caffeine. This counter-intuitive finding suggests the bitterness of caffeine reinforces an attraction to the beverage.

A new study has revealed a previously undiscovered mechanism showing how caffeine can trigger the repair of heart muscles. The research, so far only involving mouse experiments, lends more weight to the growing body of observational evidence suggesting caffeine has beneficial health effects.

How many cups of coffee do you have a day? It’s not a stretch to say that caffeine is the world’s most popular drug, with 85 percent of American adults consuming the drug in some form every day. But when and how frequently should we be taking a caffeine hit to get the best effect from it?

Caffeine may be a “catalyst” that turns us from sleepy zombies into functioning members of society, but now that may be more literal. Scientists have used caffeine to replace the metal catalysts normally used in creating polymer materials, opening the door for drug delivery via chewable gels.