Caffeine + alcohol keeps your chromosomes just right
The ends of your chromosomes are sensitive to a variety of environmental factors.
When cells divide, they must first replicate all of their genetic material. DNA replication is a very tightly controlled process; the double helix must be unwound, and the many enzymes involved must be coordinated to ensure that every nucleotide in each of our 46 chromosomes is copied exactly and only once. The system generally works pretty well, but the DNA replication machinery has a hard time with the ends of chromosomes, called telomeres.
Now, researchers have found that caffeine makes it more difficult for cells to copy the ends of their chromosomes. But that may be OK, since they also found that booze has the opposite effect.
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