A new study from the Cellular Ageing and Senescence laboratory at Queen Mary University of London’s Centre for Molecular Cell Biology, reveals how caffeine —the world’s most popular neuroactive compound—might do more than just wake you up.
A new study from the Cellular Ageing and Senescence laboratory at Queen Mary University of London’s Centre for Molecular Cell Biology, reveals how caffeine —the world’s most popular neuroactive compound—might do more than just wake you up. The study in the journal Microbial Cell shows how caffeine could play a role in slowing down the ageing process at a cellular level.
Caffeine has long been linked to potential health benefits, including reduced risk of age-related diseases. But how it works inside our cells, and what exactly are its connections with nutrient and stress responsive gene and protein networks has remained a mystery —until now.
In new research published by scientists studying fission yeast—a single-celled organism surprisingly similar to human cells—researchers found that caffeine affects ageing by tapping into an ancient cellular energy system.
A few years ago, the same research team found that caffeine helps cells live longer by acting on a growth regulator called TOR (Target of Rapamycin). TOR is a biological switch that tells cells when to grow, based on how much food and energy is available. This switch has been controlling energy and stress responses in living things for over 500 million years.
Read more at Queen Mary University of London
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