Jump to content

Caffeine may enhance lifespan

Featured Replies

A good news for all the coffee junkies. First it became apparent that coffee is not as strong a diuretic as believed initially. Now a report from Wanke et al. (Mol Mic, 2008) showed that caffeine targets the TORC1-Sch9-Rim15 phosphorylation cascade that is believed to be involved in increasing lifespan in nutrient limited organisms. As this cascade is highly conserved it may also have an effect on humans (the study was conducted with Saccharomyces cerevisae).

Interesting. Double espressos for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

 

Edit: No wait, I don't like coffee. Better stock up on some high-caffeine energy drinks then. Or just put some pure caffeine in hot chocolate.

I hate to be a spoiler of this good atmosphere but I don't know if we can extrapolate from yeast to man in that way even if genes are conserved there are whole modules of gene control which are not taken into account for a motile organism which is independent of its environment- I would still stick to decaffinated mocha latte :)

  • Author

Well, that is obvious of course. But then for instance mouse models are sometimes used to explain phenomena in humans that for ethical concerns can not be conducted. And sometimes the pathways are not as conserved.

But the real reason of course is that it justifies coffee/tea consumption. The main thing that keeps a lab running ;)

  • 4 weeks later...

I even heard something about caffeine lowering the risks of cancer, whether it's true or not... I'm quite unsure.

  • 3 weeks later...

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.