This caffeine fiend takes a molecule of the stimulant and uses an enzyme to break it down into carbon dioxide and ammonia. A team of researchers from University of Iowa isolated the gene responsible for this caffeine-digesting protein and have cloned it into E.Coli.
Now that it's in E. Coli, this enzyme can be produced mass produced for pharmaceuticals or other industries. It could be used in medicines to increase blood flow, treat heart arrhythmia, or help patients with asthma. It could also be used by coffee manufacturers to clean up excess caffeine left over from the decaffeination process. All this from an itty bitty microbe found in a flowerbed.
27 comments:
gives me an excuse for drinking more coffee
That's really cool! E. Coli is my favorite bacteria. :D
Very cool and scary info!!
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hehe great news, i will get me a bunch of em :D
I don't consume that much caffeine, so I'll pass on the E. Coli, thanks.
naah, i better stick to tea ^^
This makes me worried to stop by the cafe on the way to work
nice to know
Interesting stuff, I'm not a caffeine drinker though. Cut the stuff a few months ago.
didn't know that.. so i won't feel bad after drinking coffie anymore
Hmmmloving my tasty ecoli coffee right now.
Thats pretty dang interesting.
This is great!
I love it when they discover awesome stuff like that.
Uggg when ever i hear about them growing a new bacteria I just think of all the ways it could turn into a horror movie plot... Here i see a villian spreading the little guy all over Columbia, destroying the worlds supply of coffee
very sweet! now i can eat and drink and the chocolate and soda i want maybe
interesting post, shame i dont drink coffee anymore!
I haven't even got my afternoon cup yet, damn man. I don't have a broken heart, but I am feeling lazy. lol
Too bad I hate caffeine.
I wonder, can bacteria get hyper? hehe
i stopped drinking coffee three weeks ago :/
Ill need to eat a lot of this then lol.
Gosh I hate coffee or any other caffeine drink. No thank you!
So when the local taco bell got E. Coli it was actually a good thing! =O
interesting stuff
Nice post! Very interesting read.
Haha, this bacteria reacts better to coffee than I do.
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