Laboratory Equipment

Green Coffee Beans Help Control Blood Sugar Levels

Scientists described evidence that natural substances extracted from unroasted coffee beans can help control the elevated blood sugar levels and body weight that underpin type 2 diabetes. Their presentation on chlorogenic acids ― widely available as a dietary supplement ― was part of the 245th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Joe Vinson, who led the research, pointed out that type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes, is an increasing global health problem. In the U.S. alone, almost 26 million have the disease, in which the pancreas does not produce enough of the insulin that enables the body to use sugar, or cells resist the effects of that insulin. Blood sugar levels rise, increasing the risk of heart attacks, stroke and other health problems.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/04/green-coffee-beans-help-control-blood-sugar-levels

Caffeine Significantly Lowers Vehicle Crash Risk

Long distance commercial drivers who consume caffeinated substances such as coffee or energy drinks, to stay awake while driving, are significantly less likely to crash than those who do not, even though they drive longer distances and sleep less, finds a study published online by British Medical Journal.

Long distance drivers routinely experience monotonous and extended driving periods in a sedentary position, which has been associated with wake time drowsiness, increasing the likelihood of crashing.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/03/caffeine-significantly-lowers-vehicle-crash-risk

Used Coffee Grounds Are Chock-Full of Antioxidants

To plant food, insect repellant and other homespun uses for spent coffee grounds, scientists are adding an application that could make the gunk left over from brewing coffee a valuable resource for production of dietary supplements. Their new report in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry concludes that used coffee grounds are a rich source of healthful antioxidant substances.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/01/used-coffee-grounds-are-chock-full-antioxidants

Diet Soda Linked to Depression, Coffee Lowers Risk

New research suggests that drinking sweetened beverages, especially diet drinks, is associated with an increased risk of depression in adults while drinking coffee was tied to a slightly lower risk. The study was released and presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego.

“Sweetened beverages, coffee and tea are commonly consumed worldwide and have important physical — and may have important mental — health consequences,” says study author Honglei Chen, with the National Institutes of Health and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/01/diet-soda-linked-depression-coffee-lowers-risk

Caffeinated Coffee Significantly Lowers Risk of Oral Cancer

A new American Cancer Society study finds a strong inverse association between caffeinated coffee intake and oral/pharyngeal cancer mortality. The authors say people who drank more than four cups of caffeinated coffee per day were at about half the risk of death of these often fatal cancers compared to those who only occasionally or who never drank coffee. The study is published online in the American Journal of Epidemiology. The authors say more research is needed to elucidate the biologic mechanisms that could be at work.

Previous epidemiologic studies have suggested that coffee intake is associated with reduced risk of oral/pharyngeal cancer. To explore the finding further, researchers examined associations of caffeinated coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and tea intake with fatal oral/pharyngeal cancer in the Cancer Prevention Study II, a prospective U.S. cohort study begun in 1982 by the American Cancer Society.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/12/caffeinated-coffee-significantly-lowers-risk-oral-cancer

Scientist of the Week: Aaron Davis

Every Thursday, Laboratory Equipment features a Scientist of the Week, chosen from the science industry’s latest headlines. This week’s scientist is Aaron Davis, from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. He and a team found that coffee in the wild may go extinct in 70 years.

The original article is here: www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/11/coffee-will-be-extinct-70-years

Davis speaks about his work here: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/11/scientist-week-aaron-davis

Caffeinated Coffee Linked to Vision Loss

A new study suggests caffeinated coffee drinkers should limit their intake to reduce their chances of developing vision loss or blindness. According to a scientific paper in the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology’s journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, heavy caffeinated coffee consumption is associated with an increased risk of developing exfoliation glaucoma, the leading cause of secondary glaucoma worldwide.

The study is the first to examine the link between caffeinated coffee and exfoliation glaucoma in a U.S. –based population.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/10/caffeinated-coffee-linked-vision-loss

Biorefinery Makes Plastic from Used Coffee Grounds, Stale Muffins

With 1.3 billion tons of food trashed, dumped in landfills and otherwise wasted around the world every year, scientists now describe the development and successful laboratory testing of a new “biorefinery” intended to change food waste into a key ingredient for making plastics, laundry detergents and scores of other everyday products.

Their report on a project launched in cooperation with the Starbucks restaurant chain ― concerned with sustainability and seeking a use for spent coffee grounds and stale bakery goods ― came at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2012/08/biorefinery-makes-plastic-used-coffee-grounds-stale-muffins

Coffee May Lower Cancer Risk

Increasing the number of cups of caffeinated coffee one drinks could lower one’s risk of developing the most common form of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma, according to a study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

“Our data indicate that the more caffeinated coffee you consume, the lower your risk of developing basal cell carcinoma,” says Jiali Han, associate professor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston and Harvard School of Public Health.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Coffee-May-Lower-Cancer-Risk-070212.aspx

Two Cups of Coffee a Day Can Protect Heart

While current American Heart Association heart failure prevention guidelines warn against habitual coffee consumption, some studies propose a protective benefit, and still others find no association at all. Amidst this conflicting information, research from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center attempts to shift the conversation from a definitive yes or no, to a question of how much.

“Our results did show a possible benefit, but like with so many other things we consume, it really depends on how much coffee you drink,” says lead author Elizabeth Mostofsky, a post-doctoral fellow in the cardiovascular epidemiological unit at BIDMC. “And compared with no consumption, the strongest protection we observed was at about four European, or two eight-ounce American, servings of coffee per day.”

Read more: http://tinyurl.com/6mcggz4

Green Coffee Beans Can Aid Weight Loss

Scientists reported striking new evidence that green, or unroasted, coffee beans can produce a substantial decrease in body weight in a relatively short period of time. In a study presented at the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society, Joe Vinson and colleagues described how a group of overweight or obese people who consumed a fraction of an ounce of ground green coffee beans each day lost about 10 percent of their body weight.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Green-Coffee-Beans-Can-Aid-Weight-Loss-032812.aspx

Some “Natural” Caffeine Labels Are Lying

That caffeine in your tea, energy drink or other beverage — is it really natural? Scientists are reporting successful use for the first time of a simpler and faster method for answering that question. Their report appears in the American Chemical Society (ACS) journal Analytical Chemistry.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Some-Natural-Caffeine-Labels-Are-Lying-030712.aspx

Image: ACS

App Tells Users When to Lay Off the Coffee

Caffeinated drinks such as coffee and soda are the pick-me-ups of choice for many people, but too much caffeine can cause nervousness and sleep problems. Caffeine Zone, a software app developed by Penn State researchers, can help people determine when caffeine may give them a mental boost and when it could hurt their sleep patterns. The software takes information on caffeine use and integrates it with information on the effects of caffeine to produce a graph of how the caffeine will affect the users over time.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-App-Tells-Users-When-to-Lay-Off-the-Coffee-021512.aspx

Mix of Coffee, Genetics May Prevent Parkinson’s

A recent study co-authored by Evergreen Healthcare neurologist Pinky Agarwal finds good news for coffee drinkers: consuming caffeinated coffee may significantly reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease in some men and women depending on their genetics, according to research recently published by the Public Library of Science.

Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news-Mix-of-Coffee-Genetics-May-Prevent-Parkinsons-020612.aspx