Science Says Caffeine Helps Improve the Memories of Bees
It’s a common finals-week legend that if you load up on coffee, you’ll magically be able to remember everything you crammed on the night before the test.
Well, science says it doesn’t really work like that for us poor mammals. But that’s pretty much exactly how it is for bees!
A new study headed by Geraldine Wright, a neuroethologist at Newcastle University in England, reveals that the natural caffeine in the nectar of certain citrus plant flowers had a strong positive and lasting effect on the memories of honeybees. According to the experiments, bees were much more likely to remember the exact locations of flowers if their nectar contained caffeine, up to three times as much.
Granted, NPR reports that while caffeine does help improve the memory and functionality of sleep-deprived Navy Seals, it doesn’t really do much to improve the memories of folks who are already well-rested. So I guess it’s a good thing I’m tired all the time!
H/T + PicThx LATimes
