This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I’m Steve Mirskey. Got a minute?
That morning coffee is just the thing to get the brain in gear and the body moving. But it turns out that just the aroma of coffee also gets some of our genes up and at them. That's according to research in the June 25th issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The authors report that a sniff of coffee turns on several genes in the brain in ways that help diminish the impact of sleep deprivation, in rats at least. Rats that were stressed by lack of sleep were exposed to the smell of coffee. 17 different genes got activated in their brains and 13 of them produce proteins known to protect nerve cells from the damaging effects of stress. While there have been numerous studies analyzing the health impact of the ingredients ingested when drinking coffee. The researchers say that this is the first study to examine the effects of coffee's aroma. So maybe you don't have to shell out that 4 dollars for the Latte, just walk by the counter,"smell the honest coffee smell, ahhh, smell it".
Thanks for the minute for Scientific American 60-Second Science. I’m Steve Mirskey.
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