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In beverage world, coffee and beer are polar opposites. The first helps you in staying awake while the later winds you down.

While you are busy in making choices between these two beverages, the effect might be opposite on your genome, new study finds.

Researchers studied a specific kind of yeast that shares many significant genetic similarities with human. They found that the caffeine actually shortened while the alcohol lengthened the telomeres. Telomeres are the end points of chromosomal DNA.

“For the first time we’ve identified a few environmental factors that alter telomere length, and we’ve shown how they do it,” said Prof. Martin Kupiec of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology in the press release. “What we learned may one day contribute to the prevention and treatment of human diseases.”

Telomeres are made of DNA and proteins which marks the end of the strands of DNA in human chromosomes. These play a vital role in ensuring that the DNA strands are repaired and copied correctly.

Whenever a cell duplicates, the chromosomes are copied into the new cell with a bit shorter telomeres. Subsequently the telomeres become very short and the cell dies.

“This is the first time anyone has analyzed a complex system in which all of the genes affecting it are known,” added Prof. Kupiec in the press release. “It turns out that telomere length is something that’s very exact, which suggests that precision is critical and should be protected from environmental effects.”

More extensive research is required to prove the casual relationship, especially between the telomere length and aging or cancer.

“Try to relax and drink a little coffee and a little beer,” suggested Prof. Kupiec for now.

The research is published in PLOS Genetics.