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For some, it’s the tradition of steeping tealeaves to brew the perfect cup of tea. For others, it’s the morning shuffle to a coffee maker for a hot jolt of java. Then there are those who like their wake up with the kind of snap and a fizz usually found in a carbonated beverage.
Regardless of the routine, the consumption of caffeine is the energy boost of choice for millions to wake up or stay up. Now, however, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University have found another use for the stimulant: memory enhancer.
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We have a lot to thank bees for, so maybe we should let them share our lattes.

It turns out that bees like caffeine, and that ingesting it actually boosts their memories. But where can they get it? They’re attracted to citrus flowers because they have caffeine-laced nectar, which hooks them the same way coffee hooks human imbibers.

The New York Times quotes brain specialist Geraldine Wright as saying, "The plant is using this as a drug to change a pollinator’s behavior for its own benefit." In other words, if the bees remember where those flowers are, they’ll return again and again to pollinate them.
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Oral cancer, anyway. People who drink more than four cups of caffeinated coffee per day are at about half the risk of death of these often fatal cancers compared to those who only occasionally or who never drank coffee.

There was a weaker link between decaf and staying cancer free.

In a recent study of almost 100,000 people who were cancer-free, almost 900 deaths due to oral/pharyngeal cancer occurred during the 26 years of follow-up. Although it is less common in the United States, oral/pharyngeal cancer is among the ten most common cancers in the world. Researchers found that consuming more than four cups of caffeinated coffee per day was associated with a 49% lower risk of oral cancer. The association was independent of sex, smoking or alcohol use. read more