UH researchers Peila Chen, Ganesh Thakur, Sushanta Bose and Sriram Balasubramanian each play a role in UH’s multi-million dollar partnership with Oil India, which entered its second phase in September. | Michael Slaten/The Cougar

Greenhouse emissions will be reduced and oil production in India increased thanks to a technique called carbon flooding, which will be used in University of Houston’s partnership with Oil India that was initiated after the Indian state of Assam noticed a decline in oil production. 

The partnership began last November, said petroleum engineering professor Ganesh Thakur. The partnership allows UH researchers a real-world field to work in and, in exchange, aids Oil India in increasing production, Thakur said. 

“Our students are very good, and they get very good exposure to theoretical aspects and the laboratory aspects,” Thakur said. “What we are missing is a chance to apply these things in the field. This gives our students a tremendous way to learn how things work and learn not only from a theoretical point of view, but learn from a practical point of view.” 

Oil India is a state-owned public enterprise that began looking at different universities to start a partnership with. Sriram Balasubramanian said they chose UH because of Thakur’s industry experience with carbon flooding and UH’s location in Houston. 

Carbon flooding has been done in the U.S. for decades, Thakur said.  

It works by injecting carbon dioxide underground to lower the viscosity of oil, which leads to an increase in oil production and, long-term, reduces greenhouse emissions, said postdoctoral research fellow Peila Chen, who is leading the efforts on enhanced oil recovery with Oil India. 

It recovers oil in a faster, more economical way, Chen said. 

“It is typically about 10 to 15 percent more oil you get out of the ground,” Thakur said. “If you have, say, 1 billion barrels of oil, 10 percent of that oil will be about 100 million barrels. One hundred million barrels, at $50 a barrel, is $5 billion dollars.” 

The second phase of the partnership, phase two, began three weeks ago. The key goal of phase two is to use carbon flooding to increase oil recovery in Indian wells.  

Leaders in UH’s side of the partnership will also train Oil India personnel and try a new technology called carbonated water injection to increase oil recovery in reservoirs, Thakur said. Peila will travel to the Oil India office to train its junior engineers and help them set up laboratories.  

The project is funded by Oil India, but Thakur and his team also have a $3 million grant from Gov. Greg Abbott’s University Research Initiative program. The same amount is matched by the University. 

“That gives me capabilities to provide different types of expertise, because of technology equipment and so on,” Thakur said. “And we are beginning to make contacts with several other companies here in Texas, in the U.S. and other countries. So our goal is to try to broaden this concept that we have applied in India, like a model, and do it at more places, do it even in Texas oil fields.” 

In phase one of the project, researchers evaluated Indian oil fields for potential drilling sites. Phase two, expected to finish in fall 2018, is almost three times larger in scope than phase one, Thakur said. 

Balasubramanian said that although these oil fields have been used for decades, data was not always collected in regular intervals. 

“You know, things have moved so fast (that) everybody’s into high-performance computing, but your computing is only as good as your data,” Balasubramanian said. “This really helps even the students and the researchers to solidify their fundamentals, apply first principles and then bring in new technologies on top of that.” 

Two memorandums of understanding have been signed by the University and Oil India. Thakur said he will begin planning phase three in six months. 

Graduate, doctorial and post-doc students from chemical and petroleum engineering backgrounds, along with geology backgrounds, are part of the project. The partnership gives them a field to work in with real data instead of learning in a laboratory as they would use on campus, Thakur said.  

There could be a continuous cycle of students doing research out in the field for years to come in Oil India and other locations, too, he said.   

“One of the key themes for us is when we work with that industry — whatever we say we must deliver,” Thakur said. “Because once they can trust us, once they rely on us, then they will be asking for more and more help from us.” 

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The UH School of Theatre and Dance will begin performing acclaimed play “Man and Superman” on Friday. | Courtesy of the School of Theatre and Dance

The UH School of Theatre and Dance will open the 2017-2018 school year Friday night with the acclaimed play “Man and Superman.”

The show’s assistant director, Sophia Watt, said the play is a romantic comedy and a philosophical debate.

 The story opens as a wealthy and opinionated intellectual, Jack Tanner, unwillingly becomes the legal guardian of the charming and wily Ann Whitefield.

“A hidden marriage, bandits, a socialist chauffeur and a road trip through the Sierra Nevada are only the beginning of this Shavian Comedy,” Watt said.

Richard Shimko, director of the School of Theatre and Dance, said the faculty examine specific challenges that will benefit actors, student designers, stage managers and technicians when planning an upcoming theatre season.

“We produce plays covering a broad variety of theatrical periods and styles to make sure there is a lot of educational diversity for the students,” Shimko said.

“Man and Superman,” written by George Bernard Shaw, is over 100 years old but has stood the test of time. Watt said Shaw’s knack for theatrical panache, along with his use of skepticism and paradox, makes his plays a joy to watch and hear.

“Working on a classic British play like ‘Man and Superman’ that features a lot of complex, beautiful language and period costumes is a different challenge for an actor than working on a brand new play, like the student-written comedy ‘Winners’ that’s coming up later in our season,” Shimko said.

Shimko said it is important to please the audience of the play, which is mostly composed of UH students, faculty and staff.

“It seems like a fun experience, and it’s been awhile since I’ve gone to a play,” said Quin Neal, an American sign language interpreting freshman. “I can’t wait.”

James Bohnen, who regularly works at American Players Theater, joined the show as a guest director. Bohnen’s theatrical experience and knowledge helped put the production together, Watt said.

“As a cast and as students, it is wonderful to be in a room with a director who has spent much of their life tackling these great plays,” Watt said.

Watt said the play’s visuals are a “real treat.” The show has four different sets for each act, classical Edwardian costumes and a 1903 motor car built for the production.

“Man and Superman is often not done, as it has a larger cast and requires quite a few major set changes,” Watt said. “We are quite lucky as a community that we get to present and see such a show.”

“Man and Superman” opens Friday and will run through Oct. 13. Tickets are available on the School of Theatre and Dance website and are $10 for students.

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The Student Health Center will be relocated to Health & Biomedical Science Building 2 in December 2017. | Autumn Rendall/The Cougar

The UH Student Health Center has set a tentative date to relocate to the newly built Health and Biomedical Science Building II in December 2017.

Chief Physician and Executive Director Vanessa Tilney said the Student Health Center
location has been in the heart of the residential district since 1968. The old building needs a modern upgrade, so the Student Health Center will move, she said.

“The current building is over 50 years old,” Tilney said. “This doesn’t lend itself to be as
efficient in a clinic operation. A new, modern facility will allow us to streamline our processes.”

Tilney said the plan to relocate and upgrade the Student Health Center’s facilities has been discussed with the University’s executive leadership for a few years. The concept became real in Spring 2016 when construction began on Health and Biomedical Science Building II.

Tilney said the Student Health Center will occupy two floors of the building. The pharmacy will be on the first floor and the Student Health Center on the second floor, she said.

“The advantages of moving will allow the Student Health Center to grow and accommodate
the demands of the student population,” Tilney said.

Student Health Center administrative assistant Mary Gibson said it offers a variety of services with affordable prices for college students and health insurance is not required. These services include a general medicine clinic, women’s and men’s care, psychiatry, orthopedics, a lab and an on-site
pharmacy.

Tilney said students have the option to purchase a University-endorsed student health insurance plan if they’re on the market for more affordable coverage.

Another advantage of relocating is its proximity to sister departments, Tilney said, which should provide more comprehensive and better services to people on campus.

“The Student Health Center will be neighbors with the School of Nursing faculty and Health
and Human Performances to name a couple,” Tilney said.

The new location is expected to be operating by the beginning of Spring 2018, Tilney said. The group is planning an open house event with more details to be announced later.

“The Student Health Center providers and staff are extremely excited to relocate to a new facility
and be able to serve the student body with upgraded equipment and expanded services,” Tilney said.

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The SC Satellite reopened Monday after several weeks of repairs following damage from Hurricane Harvey. | Michael Slaten/The Cougar

The Student Center Satellite reopened Monday after several weeks of repairs to damage caused by Hurricane Harvey.

“As of (Monday morning), Starbucks, Smoothie King and the C-store were still not open,” Executive Director of Auxiliary Services Neil Hart said.

The food court itself, which includes Chick-fil-A, Taco Bell, Tandoori Nite and Drexler’s BBQ, is open and operational.

The billiards and game room remain closed, and the student lounge is expected to reopen next semester.

Students filled the Satellite on its first day back. Sarah Garrison, a physics graduate student, said she had to eat at food trucks and at Subway while the Satellite was closed.

“I’m glad that it’s open because it alleviates a lot of the pressure from the other dining facilities on campus and gives students more options,” Garrison said.  

Garrison said that during the time the Satellite was closed, the other dining facilities on campus had long waits. Garrison and sport administration senior Nathan Jackson said the Satellite location is a convenient spot to eat lunch.

“I’m a big fan of the Satellite. I like everything that’s here,” Jackson said. “More of a commute, I guess, when it wasn’t open. (I was) walking to the Student Center all of the time.”

Management information systems senior Tuyet Nguyen said that although she really didn’t want to, she ate at McDonald’s at the Student Center South while the Satellite was closed.

“I feel that it’s great to be able to get my Indian foods,” Nguyen said. “I really like how they have a lot of flavors and also that it’s spicy.”

Students can look at the Satellite hours of operation on UH dining’s website.

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With first exams and midterms approaching, students are preparing for long hours of studying and sleepless nights. When college becomes overwhelming, there are resources on campus that can help students cope through stressful parts of the semester. 

Students around campus reflected on how they deal with daily stress and how CAPS provides help where needed. Counseling and Psychological Services provides resources to overwhelmed college students. It offers counseling, crisis intervention, outreach and consultation.

According to the CAPS website, they embrace that the mental health of students is a vital component of their academic, professional and personal success. 

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UH Dining Services hosted the first farmers market of the semester, which offered produce from local farms in the Houston area. | Sumaiyah Khan/The Cougar

UH Dining Services hosted the first on-campus farmers market at the Student Center Circle Drive on Wednesday, offering students and staff the opportunity to purchase local fresh food products.

Eight vendors offered a variety of products, from honey and extra virgin olive oil to ice pops and fresh vegetables from different areas in Texas.

“I’ve never been to a farmer’s market, so I was like, ‘OK. it sounds cool. I’ll try it out,’” said biochemical and biophysics junior Aarti Chauhan. “I mean, it’s really cool to have something to go to and eat Popsicle’s and try things you have never tried before.”

Attendees of the farmers market could engage with the vendors and get to know what’s inside of the food offered, Chauhan said.

For Seth Feldman, who was visiting from New Jersey, knowing what’s inside of the food he’s buying is worth the extra cost. 

“Oh 100%, I’d rather spend the extra money to know where it’s from, and it’s fresh, too,” Feldman said. “If I had my choice, I’d never go to a grocery store. I’d go to a farmers market.”

Feldman said the farmers market gave him a taste of the area while he was here and offered him not only food, but also drinks and juices.

“I actually would rather have stuff like this than just fruits and vegetables — stuff I can take and enjoy right away,” Feldman said. “I’m not really shopping for my home. I’m at a hotel. Most students aren’t actually doing big produce shopping either. It’s a good selection.”

Jordan Fox, one of the vendors with the local farm Loam Agronomics, said there has been an increase in farmers markets over the past couple of years.

“I would even say just like in the last eight months there has been four or five that have popped up,” Fox said. “I think people are just getting more engaged. Whenever you buy locally sourced food, you’re just helping out the locally sourced economy.”

A challenge for farmers markets is meeting people halfway, Fox said, to make it more convenient.

“I think people want good,” Fox said. “They want fresher and better, but what they don’t want to do is to change their buying habits or spending habits.”

Jan Robertson, who was selling olive oils and balsamic vinegar’s from Dripping Springs, said she hopes the recent uptick in farmers markets is more than a trend.

“I hate the word trendy, because I hope it’s a long-lasting practice, not just a trend,” Robertson said. “But you know supporting your locals, that’s exactly what it is — It’s fresh, fresh, fresh.”

The next farmers market will be Oct. 11 at Lynn Eusan Park. There will be farmers markets held every two weeks on campus at different locations, with the exception of Thanksgiving week, according to UH Auxiliary Services.

Daniella Lewis with nonprofit Plant it Forward Farms, which helps refugees open their own farming business and sell produce in the area, said there have been many new farmers markets opening up.

“There have been so many new markets — more than we can accommodate,” Lewis said. “I really hope those markets can take off and be successful.”

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After spending two weeks at the main campus due to Harvey, UH Victoria students were inspired to bring pieces of UH back to their own campus. | Courtesy of Camilla Sutton

University of Houston Victoria students returned to classes Sept. 11 after about 70 students spent two weeks living in the Quadrangle’s Law Hall following an evacuation to UH right before Harvey’s landfall.

Victoria students were anxious to go back to their dorms, said Brandon Lee, director of UHV’s Department of Residence Life and University Commons, but their return was delayed due to no electricity or drinkable water at their residence halls.

Christopher McDonald, a UHV Forensic Psychology & Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate student, was one of the 70 evacuated to Law Hall on Aug 25. After staying for two weeks and seeing what the main campus has to offer, McDonald and the other UHV students wanted to bring pieces of UH back to Victoria.

“It was definitely nice. It was definitely a different experience, a different vibe,” McDonald said. “Going around campus and seeing some of the things they had there inspired me to want to go look into things we can add.”

UHV has already added a panini press to their Jaguar dining hall after the students used the ones at Moody Towers, said Camilla Sutton, assistant director of the Department of Residence Life in Victoria.

Sutton said UHV’s Student Government Association is also working on bringing a version of Cougar Red Fridays to their campus.

Psychology and human resources sophomore Katherine Burke said that she also enjoyed the vibe on the campus, and that isn’t the same as the UHV campus.

“We went to the student activity center you guys have,” Burke said. “That was just a great atmosphere, because we would see people break dancing in the middle of the hallway.”

Even though Burke enjoyed the variety of food and access to cable at the main campus, she said she was happy to be back in Victoria.

“I love it, I love being at home.” Burke said. “It’s nice, I miss the little activities available to us, but it’s home.”

The evacuated students arrived back to the Victoria campus Sept. 8, and were checking back into their residence halls through the following Monday.

With two weeks of classes canceled for UHV, Burke said she isn’t worried about the shortened semester, and that teachers are understanding of the situation. Sutton teaches a freshmen seminar and said she had to adjust what she will be teaching.

“Some people like the shortened schedule you know what I’m saying,” Sutton said. “It was a little challenging to amend the syllabus, but somehow, someway, I’ll still cover the material I wanted to cover, and we aren’t going to miss much material.”

The damage to the UHV residence halls was extensive, and it would have been unsafe for students to stay, Sutton said.

McDonald said he used his time at the main campus to get ahead in readings for his classes and helped volunteer. Students were carpooled to the George R. Brown Convention center to help.

“Volunteering kind of showed me the bigger impact of it,” McDonald said. “Hearing about it, you didn’t get to experience all of it, but actually going out and volunteering and seeing how much of an impact it had on people.”

“I’m glad we did not end up staying here, because we have windows broken out, water coming through the roof, so we had to replace a lot of carpet and flooring,” Sutton said. “And then our dining hall had to have some repairs.”

When UH President and Chancellor Renu Khator visited Moody Towers Dining Hall, Sutton thanked Khator for housing them, and said she provided them with necessities without her having to ask.

“I told her where we were staying,” Sutton said. “I swear — literally within, I would say less than two hours — all of these toiletries, supplies, blankets, pillows sheets, soap powder, all of this showed up at the Quads.”

Sutton said the sweetest of all the gifts was one Posturepedic pillow given to the Victoria students with a note that said “Whoever has this pillow, I hope you have a restful night.”

With two weeks of classes wrapped up for the semester at UHV, Director of Residence Life and University Commons Brandon Lee said students are now able to get back into their routines and return to normalcy.

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Students arrived at CASA Saturday for their early morning tests, only to find they were unable to take them. | Michael Slaten/The Cougar

The CASA Testing Center servers were shut down Saturday morning, leaving students unable to take their exams at their scheduled times.

A power outage occurred at one of the University’s servers, leading to an 8 a.m. server failure, said mathematics assistant professor Cathy Poliak in an email to her students. She said CASA will be open Sunday for students who wish to take their exams, or they can come in later on Saturday to make up their morning exams that were missed.

“They postponed every test. I had mine at 9:30,” said mechanical engineering technology sophomore António Rivera, who had a calculus II exam. “Everybody who had a 9:30, 10 or 11, everything is kind of getting pushed back so they are going in terms of whenever the servers do open.”

The testing center at the Susanna Garrison Gymnasium, which had mostly math tests Saturday, was packed with students waiting to see if they could take their exams.

“I scheduled my time pretty early in the morning, due to basically parking and stuff for the game,” Rivera said. “By the looks of it, I don’t think I’ll be able to take my test today. I’ll have to email my professor.”

Workers at the Garrison testing center told students they can either wait for an open slot later when the servers are back up to take their exams, or email their professor that they were affected by the outage and take their exam another day. Biotechnology sophomore Jacqueline Calzada, planning to take a statistics exam, said students affected had no idea what their professor would do for make up.

“It’s aggravating, you know? You’re here, you’re early, trying to take your exam,” Calzada said. “This happened and I don’t know what to do anymore.”

Health and human performance sophomore Deanne Hernandez, who had a statistics exam at 11 a.m. Saturday, said she was frustrated, too.

“They should at least notify us of this like in the morning, tell people who have a test.”

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Myopia exists when light focuses in front of the retina, rather than on top of it. | Courtesy of David Gee/College of Optometry

The University of Houston’s College of Optometry is leading the charge in the fight against myopia, or nearsightedness, with several studies aimed at discovering how to fully stop the progression of the condition in children — a problem that can lead to permanent blindness.

Dr. Earl Smith, Dean of the UH College of Optometry, was named one of the “Most Influential in Optometry” in 2015 for his extensive research into myopia and was recently awarded a $1.9 million research grant by the National Eye Institute to help fund his ongoing work. Dr. David Berntsen is part of a clinical trial for children’s contact lenses that builds off of some of Smith’s work, and Dr. Ruth Manny worked on two studies that tested eyeglasses and looked for myopia risk factors.

“We’re in the middle of an epidemic of myopia,” Smith said. “In Asia, East Asia, for example: Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore — if you look at the kids graduating from technical high schools in urban areas, 80 to 95 percent are nearsighted, and they’re not a little bit nearsighted. They’re a lot nearsighted.”

Myopia exists when the eye grows too long on its axial length, Smith said, so light from a faraway object focuses in front of the retina, rather than on it. This causes objects at large distances to look blurry.

The myopia epidemic, Smith said, is likely caused by intense educational practices and lack of time outside for children. Sitting indoors, reading and studying for long hours does not give the eye enough variety in distance or exposure to sunlight. Everything inside is close to the eye, Smith said, while everything outside is far away, giving the eye the needed signal to slow growth.

Myopia is one of the largest causes of permanent blindness in Asia, he said, and the condition is taking hold in the United States. From 1970 to 2000, the number of myopia sufferers in the adult population jumped from to 45 percent from 25 percent. Those with severe myopia increased by a factor of eight, Smith said.

An estimated five billion people — half of the earth’s population — will be nearsighted by 2050 if nothing is done about the epidemic, Smith said. One billion of those five billion people will have severe myopia, Smith said, which is likely to lead to permanent blindness.

Glasses and contact lenses are the most common ways to correct nearsightedness, Smith said, because they change the focus of the light received by the eye so that it comes to rest on the retina. 

Smith said the goal of his research is to understand the role of vision in affecting eye growth. The eye has corrective systems in place so that during development, if vision is blurry, the eye will grow to correct it.

At first, Smith said, his research was focused on those suffering from lazy or crossed eyes. His focus shifted once he found that visual experience plays a key role in the development of those conditions and myopia.

“Vision regulates the way the eye grows, whether one is nearsighted or not,” Smith said. “It’s a fascinating thing. The eye uses visual feedback associated with defocus to regulate the way the eye grows. Because of changes in our behavior, those systems sometimes operate in ways that cause the eye to become nearsighted.”

Smith said the biggest contribution his research made was proving that the periphery vision could dominate eye growth. If corrective bifocal contact lenses are applied, giving the wearer clear vision while simultaneously correcting the peripheral vision, eye growth will be slowed and myopia can be avoided, Smith said.

Dr. David Berntsen, an associate professor at the College of Optometry and fellow recipient of funding from the National Institutes of Health, is working on the Bifocal Lenses In Nearsighted Kids clinical trial.

“My funding and the primary work in my lab is clinical trials in kids, looking at specific types of lenses to see if they can slow myopia progression,” Berntsen said.

The funding Berntsen received is a different type of grant system that funds large-scale clinical trials, he said. The BLINK study is a collaboration between UH researchers and colleagues at Ohio State University.

BLINK enrolled about 150 kids at UH and 144 at Ohio State University, aged 7 to 11-years-old, over the course of about a year and a half, Berntsen said.

Berntsen explained that each child is randomly assigned one of three kinds of contact lenses. The control lens is one that is normally prescribed to correct myopia. The other two are bifocals with varying degrees of plus-power in the periphery of the lens focusing the light sooner at the edges, controlling eye growth according to the findings of Smith’s research. The peripheral light is then focused in front of the retina, which sends a signal to the eye to slow growth.

Traditional lenses give the wearer clear central vision, but peripheral light focuses behind the retina, which may stimulate the eye to grow longer, which exacerbates myopia, Berntsen.

Corrective lenses are the standard of care for treating myopia, Berntsen said, so there are no studies comparing myopic progression with lenses versus no lenses. There are studies that have found that peripheral light focused behind the retina — like with traditional spectacles — is associated with faster progression than when peripheral light is focused in front of the retina, like with Berntsen’s bifocal contacts.

Berntsen said the ultimate goal of his research is to stop eye growth in myopic children, but currently it can only be slowed.

Another College of Optometry professor, Dr. Ruth Manny, was involved in a similar study in 2008. The Correction of Myopia Evaluation Trial aimed to understand differences in the progression of myopia in children wearing different types of eyeglasses.

“The question COMET was designed to answer was: Is the increase in nearsightedness that occurs as children get older different between children who wear eyeglasses with progressive additional bifocals (no line bifocal) and children who wear conventional single vision spectacle lenses?” Manny said in an email.

There were 469 children enrolled in four different cities: Houston, Boston, Philadelphia and Birmingham, Alabama. Manny said that after three years of study, researchers found that while myopia progression was less in those children wearing bifocals, the difference was too small to recommend no-line bifocals as a method to treat myopic children.

The results of COMET have led researchers to explore different treatments, Manny said, such as the bifocal contact lenses in Berntsen’s study.

Manny was also involved in a study called the Collaborative Longitudinal Evaluation of Ethnicity and Refractive Error that looked at 13 risk factors for myopia in children, and found that refractive error, or light focusing incorrectly within the eye, was the single best predictor of the condition.

Despite working within the same college at UH, Smith, Berntsen and Manny are not directly involved in each other’s research, they explained.

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Drinking too much coffee can lead to a handful of negative side effects, including migraines, frequent urination, anxiety and an upset stomach. Research shows that drinking one or two cups is optimal to increase focus. | Sonny Sing/The Cougar

If you rely on coffee to wake you up every morning, you’re not alone.

Sixty-two percent of Americans drink it on a daily basis, according to a survey by the National Coffee Association. If you don’t drink coffee every day, then maybe you should — especially during the stress-filled mayhem that is finals week. Coffee has plenty of health benefits, as long as you don’t overdo it.

A cup a day is a good way to keep coffee a friend and not a foe. Just one might make your breath stink and send you to the toilet more often than you would like, but that’s pretty much the only harm it will do. Bad breath can be taken care of with a quick mouth rinse, by brushing your teeth or by popping in a stick of gum on the go.

As for the pooping, not much can be done about that. Caffeine stimulates your bowels, telling them to work harder and faster, leading you to spend much longer on the toilet. If you don’t want to deal with diarrhea, then try not drinking coffee on an empty stomach or just after you’ve eaten.

The benefits of one cup far outweigh the minor annoyances that come with it. Your brain will kick into overdrive, helping you focus better and think faster. Drinking a cup before your next workout is also a good idea, as studies have shown that caffeine boosts your muscles and endurance when working out. The stimulated adrenaline in your body will also cause you to experience temporarily sharpened sight, so if you know you’re going to be intensely focused on a screen for hours while you cram for finals, try getting a cup of coffee in beforehand.

In the long run, drinking one or two cups per day can decrease your risk for heart disease, reduce anxiety and lower your risk of dying from neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Dementia.

However, let’s say that one cup simply isn’t enough for you to make it through your second all-nighter this week. Be warned that you are playing a dangerous game if you drink more than four cups of coffee in one day. When you drink that much coffee, you may experience migraines, frequent or uncontrollable urination, anxiety, an upset stomach, a fast heartbeat or muscle tremors.

Routinely drinking too much can lead to liver damage, addiction, an increased risk of osteoporosis and stomach ulcers. While the amount of coffee that can cause this type of damage varies per person, the next time you are standing in line at Starbucks for the fourth time in one day, listen to your body and ask yourself if you really need it.

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