Dr. Allan Conney and his colleagues went looking for a way to provide hairless mice with a safe summer glow.

Caffeine-laced lab water increased the mice's ability to kill off precancerous cells in their icky white skin by 100% as did regular work-outs on the exercise wheel. But go-getter mice who indulged in caffeine AND exercise between sessions with the UV lamp were nearly 400% more effective at policing their sun-damaged DNA.

The researchers were hopeful that this simple formula for sun protection would work for humans as well. They issued, however, this final note of caution:

Don't go out and exercise and drink a lot of coffee and assume you're going to be protected. Keep in mind that these are studies in mice.
--Allan Conney PhD, Rutgers cancer researcher