February 19, 2009 - Should we drink our coffee or smell it? Thats the question scientists at the National Institute of Advanced Science and Technology are asking. According to researchers, drinking a cup of coffee not only wakes us up, but it can also reverse the effects of sleep deprivation.

The team led by Yoshinori Masuo in Tsukuba, Japan, deprived rats of sleep for a day. When they examined their brains they found reduced levels of mRNA - messenger molecules that indicate when a gene is being expressed. When the rats were exposed to the aroma of coffee, the mRNA for nine of the genes was restored to near normal levels, and pushed to above normal levels for two. The study was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Click to listen to NPR Broadcast

Links:

New Scientist, June 13 2008

January 20, 2009 -  According to researchers at the University of Durham , drinking too much coffee can cause hallucinations with the presence of 'dead people". Subjects who consumed a daily equivalent of seven cups of instant coffee or more were three times more likely to have extra-sensory experiences. Those taking high concentrations of caffeine often reported "seeing things that were not there, hearing voices, and sensing the presence of dead people".

Links:
livescience.com

December  27, 2008 - A study by the University of Barcelona found that the stimulatory effects of caffeine work much quicker in men than in women. The study which surveyed 688 students with an average age of 22, showed that male subjects showed greater levels of alertness than women - though a study on decaffeinated coffee showed just the opposite. Though the reasons for this are still unclear , what is clear, is that in previous studies, it was believed that caffeine initiated its stimulatory effects between 30-45min. This new study found that effects can be seen in as quickly as 10 minutes.

Links:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28366778/

Dec 8, 2008 - Two Costa Rican engineering students have a developed a coffee brewing device that  can be used in space. So what's the problem you ask? Well apperantly since space in confined to a vacuum -(and thus, lacks atmospheric pressure)  any heat applied to water causes it to evaporate immediately. Thus making it impossible to brew a cup of coffee under normal conditions. Now for some physics: in order for water to boil the amount of heat applied needs to exceed that of its atmospheric pressure. Under most circumstances water has 1 atm or 14.7  psi "pressing" up against it , in locations with higher altitude - such as Denver, CO - water boils much more quickly due to reduced pressure. Check out the coffee brewing video which better explains the newly developed process.