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.

Dec 1, 2008 - Ever wonder how difficult it is to drink coffee in a weight less environment? Well its apparently more difficult than we think. And interestingly enough, its one that may not even involve coffee itself - but rather the cup!

Luckily, creative engineers have devised a way to that allow astronauts to enjoy their Cup of Joe by simply getting rid of the coffee cup altogether and creating a "coffee bag" based on airplane wing technology. Who would of known? Everything works just fine so long as the bag's sharp angle is less than "two times 90 minus the contact landing angle"  - the coffee  will automatically creep up.

September 24, 2008 - Reseachers at the University of Washington observed that by applying a caffeine-laden lotion to the skin of hairless mice significantly reduced the damage caused by ultraviolet (UV) light. Writing in the Journal of Cancer research, the scientist stated that those mice with the caffeine lotion applied, not only had a reduced number of cells damaged, but were also able to shed more than double the amount of already damaged skin cells than normal. The findings are still tentative, but this may someday lead to the use of caffeine in our sunblock.