Open Threads

How does Cafestol, an ingredient in unfiltered coffee raise cholesterol?

The coffee diterpene cafestol (CAF) is present in unfiltered coffee brews such as Scandinavian boiled, Turkish and cafetiere coffee. CAF is the most potent cholesterol-elevating compound known in the human diet. A study by Marie-Louise Ricketts of Baylor College of Medicine sought to determine whether CAF exerts its effects via nuclear hormone receptors that control genes involved in cholesterol homeostasis.

To answer this question, both in vitro and in vivo studies were performed, and the data determined that CAF acts as an agonist ligand for both FXR and PXR, and this may contribute to its ability to raise cholesterol levels. CAF acts as a potential agonist ligand for both FXR and PXR, and this may contribute to its effect on cholesterol homeostasis.

I love my Bodum. You scientists can’t have it.

Here is another link in English:

The type of coffee you’re drinking Wednesday morning could be affecting your cholesterol level.

A new study has found a compound called Cafestol that suppresses a gene that helps breakdown cholestorol in your body.

Cafestol is found in unfiltered coffees like French press coffees, Scandinavian boiled and Turkish coffee. Researchers say that it can be removed using a paper filter.

At any rate- hands off my French Freedom Press.

Damnit to HellPost + Comments (5)

Car BloggingPost + Comments (14)

NOBODY IS saying that the proposed free-trade deal with Central America and the Dominican Republic will work miracles. Yes, regional free-trade deals boost prosperity much less than global ones. Yes, free trade by itself is not a wonder cure for Central America’s poverty. And, yes, the deal could cause some dislocation to workers in the United States, though 80 percent of Central America’s exports to the United States are duty-free already. But these legitimate reservations do not change the bottom line: The deal promises important economic and foreign policy advantages. The fact that nearly all Democratic members of the House oppose this bargain — even the traditionally pro-trade New Democrats have come out in opposition — is a depressing sign of the party’s abandonment of Clintonite centrism.

Yeow.

WaPo on CAFTAPost + Comments (3)

Steven P. Jobs is preparing to take an unprecedented gamble by abandoning Apple Computer’s 14-year commitment to chips developed by I.B.M. and Motorola in favor of Intel processors for his Macintosh computers, industry executives informed of the decision said Sunday.

The move is a chesslike gambit in a broader industry turf war that pits the traditional personal computer industry against an emerging world of consumer electronics focused on the digital home.

“This is a seismic shift in the world of personal computing and consumer electronics,” said Richard Doherty, president of the Envisioneering Group, a Seaford, N.Y., computer and consumer electronics industry consulting firm. “It is bound to rock the industry, but it will also be a phenomenal engineering challenge for Apple.”

I don’t know much about this subject, but I was under the impression that there were huge structural differences in these chips, so I am not sure how smooth or quick the transition will be. And when I say big structural differences, I mean a completely different approach- but it has been years since I paid any attention to this stuff.

Intel InsidePost + Comments (21)

Stupid QuestionPost + Comments (27)

This idiot, having learned nothing, said that the Democrats should filibuster Scalia, Thomas, and she would have to think about Sandra Day O’Connor. If three sitting justices are too extreme for the modern Democrats, then they have lost their damned minds.

Filibuster UpdatePost + Comments (67)