Coffee Smell Wakes Up Genes (broadcast Friday, June 20th, 2008)

Colorful Coffee Composition Photo by 'Once and Future' / Flickr

Sure, the commercials love to people energized by the mere whiff of a steaming pot of coffee -- but new research shows that those commercials may not be far off the mark. Just smelling the aroma of coffee is enough to change the activity of several genes in rats, researchers report this week in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The affected genes appear to help the animals deal with resistance to the stresses caused by sleep deprivation. In this segment, we'll talk with one of the researchers involved with the project about the team's findings. Teachers, find more information about using Science Friday as a classroom resource in the Kids' Connection.