WASHINGTON, April 9 (Reuters Life!) – People from families prone to Parkinson’s who drink coffee or smoke are less likely to develop the disease, researchers said on Monday in a finding that reinforces earlier observations and offers potential paths to treatment.

The researchers doubt that smoking and caffeine protect from Parkinson’s, but say the information offers clues about how environment works with genes to cause disease.

Dr. William Scott of the University of Miami school of medicine, who led the study, said the findings point clearly to dopamine — a message-carrying chemical in the brain that falls to low levels in Parkinson’s.

“Dopamine is important because both smoking and drinking caffeine affect dopamine in the brain,” Scott said in a telephone interview.

Other researchers had noted that both smoking and drinking coffee seemed to reduce the risk of Parkinson’s, but no one had tracked it in families prone to Parkinson’s.

Read: Coffee users at lower risk for Parkinson’s -study

Starbucks will build a new roasting plant in South Carolina to better distribute coffee in the southeast U.S.

The new 150,000-square-foot facility will employ 160 full-time workers and is scheduled to open in 2009. The roasting plant will be built in the city of St. Matthews, about 15 miles southeast of Columbia.

Read: Starbucks roasting plant to be built in South Carolina

Most people just roll their eyes when I bring it up.

For them, coffee is what’s at hand — the drive-through, the cafeteria, the office Mr. Coffee no one’s willing to clean. Others depend on Starbucks, or Seattle’s Best, or Dunkin’ Donuts.

Then there are those who go out of their way to buy their beans whole, grind them, and then drip or percolate or even french press to get a hot cup of caffeine.

But roast your own?

I dismissed it, too. That was taking the whole thing one step too far. I don’t need any more gadgets cluttering up my cabinets. I certainly don’t need more chores. And most days, for me, coffee is more about the buzz and the cookie that goes with it than what’s actually in the cup.

Read: Roasting your own coffee beans yet?