The coffee DNA challenge
Can you drink an espresso at 9 PM and still fall asleep? A variant near the CYP1A2 gene (marker rs762551) is linked in studies to how quickly the body breaks down caffeine. Check your own number — against your own raw data file, right in the browser.
No file at hand? Take the coffee quiz first — 6 questions, 60 seconds
How to do it
- Don't have the file yet? Download your raw data (23andMe, MyHeritage, AncestryDNA, FTDNA).
- Look up rs762551 in the rsID lookup to see which associations the marker has.
- Want to see your own variant? Analyze the file locally — it is not uploaded.
- Share the challenge with a friend — compare your variants!
The science, briefly
The CYP1A2 enzyme is responsible for most of caffeine breakdown. Individuals with different variants of rs762551 have shown different breakdown rates in studies — but habits, smoking, medication and age play at least as large a role. It is an association, not a verdict on how you personally react.
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