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Put down that venti soy Americano! Don't reach for that cup of Java when you next need a caffeine hit. Inhale it instead. Behold the AeroShot, an inhalable caffeine "shot" invented by David Edwards (who previously invented inhalable chocolate)
Would you um, snort one?
I consider myself an expert on drinking coffee, but even I didn’t know why a coffee tree produces caffeine! Excuse me, I need to go pour another cup. Link -via the Presurfer
If you can’t live without a cup of coffee, you have something in common with the bacterium Pseudomonas putida CBB5. The bug was discovered to live on caffeine – literally!
The caffeine-munching bacterium was found in a flower bed on the University of Iowa campus.
Ryan Summers, a doctoral student there, identified four digestive proteins that it uses to break down caffeine, which allows it to live and grow, he explains in a summary of his research presented at a meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in New Orleans.
"This work, for the first time, demonstrates the enzymes and genes utilized by bacteria to live on caffeine," he writes.
Love coffee? No, I mean, do you love coffee? If you’re a coffee addict, then take heart – it’s not your fault: A new research shows that how much you crave caffeine largely depends on your genes.
New research suggests that individuals who carry a so-called "high-consumption" variation of either gene appear to drink more coffee, relative to those who carry a "low-consumption" variant.
"It’s really an incredible story," said study co-author Dr. Neil Caporaso, branch chief of genetic epidemiology at the National Cancer Institute. "People don’t really suspect it, but genetics plays a big role in a lot of behaviors, such as smoking and alcohol consumption. And now it turns out that it has a part in how much caffeine we drink."
Stay Puft Caffeinated Marshmallows – $22.95
Ghostbusters + Caffeine + Marshmallows = Awesome!!! What’s not to love about the Stay Puft Caffeinated Marshmallows from the NeatoShop! This is pure, sweet, pillow soft goodness.
Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more exciting Mints & Candies!
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Can you die from taking too much caffeine? The answer is yes – all it takes to kill you is the equivalent of 70 cans of energy drinks:
Apparently, the pack of [powder] caffeine suggested taking no more than 1/16 of a teaspoon, but Bedford reportedly took spoonfuls of the stuff, so I wouldn’t start worrying that your morning coffee addiction might help you end up on the wrong side of living. Bedford reportedly took the dosage of caffeine at a party, and one friend recounts seeing him profusely sweating and throwing up blood only about 15 minutes after the dosage was taken. Pretty horrifying.
Previously on Neatorama: 30 Strangest Deaths in History
Allison Nelson has opened “A Snack in the Face” — a bakery in Ames, Iowa that specializes in caffeinated goods. Each brownie that she sells contains 200 milligrams of pure caffeine:
“It’s exactly what grandma used to bake – no high-fructose corn syrup, no partially hydrogenated soybean oil,” Nelson told the newspaper. “We’re not wrapping up caffeine in a health bar here. We’re wrapping it up in a home-baked treat. Isn’t it about time you have caffeine and it tastes good?”
Nelson and her husband, Wes, originally started out with 400 milligrams of caffeine in their brownies, according to the paper, which is about the equivalent of a large cup of Starbucks-brewed coffee. But that amount proved to be a little too potent.
“I’m lying there, staring at the ceiling at 2 a.m. and saying, ‘I think that’s too much,’ ” Wes said.
Link via MArooned | Photo (unrelated) via Flickr user dichohecho used under Creative Commons license
The Good News: Scientists have discovered that coffee can help protect the brain against Alzheimer’s disease.
Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center researcher (and coffee lover) Gary Arendash and colleagues discovered that 500 mg of caffeine can ward off Alzheimer’s:
They’ve found that adding caffeinated water to rodents’ diet results in big improvements. The mice perform better on short-term memory and thinking tests. But only if they get enough caffeine.
"The human equivalent of two to three cups of coffee does not have benefits in our Alzheimer’s mice," says Arendash.
Arendash’s team also documented that these super-caffeinated mice end up with about a 50-percent reduction in abnormal amyloid proteins, which are thought to play an important role in the development of Alzheimer’s.
The typical American drinks about a cup and a half of coffee a day. "So you can see that many of us are below that threshold level that we believe confers protective benefits," says Arendash.
Allison Aubrey of NPR explains: Link
The Bad News: You may have to wear this T-shirt below.
I’m Not Tense – I’m Terribly, Terribly Alert – $9.95
Also nicotine! A study conducted at the University of Haifa revealed that bees prefer nectar containing those psychoactive substances.
Flower nectar is primarily comprised of sugars, which provide energy for the potential pollinators. But the floral nectar of some plant species also includes small quantities of substances known to be toxic, such as caffeine and nicotine… Caffeine is found at concentration levels of 11-17.5 milligrams per liter, mostly in citrus flowers. In the nectar of grapefruit flowers, however, caffeine is present in much higher concentrations, reaching 94.2 milligrams per liter…
The results showed that bees clearly prefer nectar containing nicotine and caffeine over the “clean” nectar. The preferred nicotine concentration was 1 milligram per liter, similar to that found in nature. Given a choice of higher levels of nicotine versus “clean” nectar, the bees preferred the latter.
The presumption is that natural selection has favored those plants that satisfy the desires of their pollinators. Further studies are underway to ascertain whether the bees are addicted to caffeine and nicotine.
Link.
(image credit: Flickr user mkandlez)
How many cups of coffee, Diet Cokes or Red Bulls will it take to kill you with its caffeine content?
This website can do the math for you.
Don’t miss the disclaimer : "If you actually try this and end up dying after only 140 energy drinks instead of 143, it’s not our fault."
