What We’re Reading – Page 2

Space Whisky & “Natural Foods”

December 17, 2015/in What We're Reading/by Grant Alkin

A vial of unmatured malt whisky was sent into space three years ago, and has recently returned to Earth for a taste test. This space whisky was compared to the same whisky that was matured (on Earth) in charred oak barrels. Guess which whisky contains aromas of antiseptic smoke and rubber. While we’re comparing two things, AsapSCIENCE discusses the chemicals and ingredients in processed foods versus natural foods to explain why “chemical-free” is not a realistic food label.
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Futuristic Cranberries & 1959 Cranberries

December 3, 2015/in What We're Reading/by Grant Alkin

In the future, cranberries may be sweet enough to snack on without sugar, thanks to the efforts of biologists and geneticists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Going back in time to 1959, a few cranberry batches tested positive for aminotriazole, an herbicide, causing a nationwide panic and collapsing the cranberry industry almost overnight.
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Pumpkin Domestication & Fruit Benefits

November 19, 2015/in What We're Reading/by Grant Alkin

If pumpkins are on your menu this Thanksgiving, be thankful that hundreds of years of human domestication has turned this once super-bitter squash into a sweet dessert. Furthermore, human intervention may have prevented gourds and squashes from extinction. As for reasons to be thankful for cranberries, scientific research shows that a compound within cranberries could prevent urinary tract infections.
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Better Hops & Perfect Wine

November 5, 2015/in What We're Reading/by Grant Alkin

Agricultural geneticist and self-proclaimed “craft beer fanatic”, Sean Myles began breeding hops plants that are resistant to mildew. Other breweries are now using traditional breeding techniques to breed hopes varieties with novel flavors, changing the craft beer game. For wine lovers, there’s Linda Bisson, a yeast geneticist at UC Davis working on the winemaking issue of “stuck” fermentation, a phenomenon when yeast added to wine fail to fully ferment.
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Space Candy & 3D-printed Candy

October 22, 2015/in What We're Reading/by Grant Alkin

In space, NASA astronaut Don Pettit uses candy corn for a zero-gravity candy corn demonstration that illustrates how surfactant molecules behave. In Germany, Café Gruen Ohr offers customers the chance to customize their own candy using a 3D printer.
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Chocolate’s Future & Mysteries

October 8, 2015/in What We're Reading/by Grant Alkin

In the town of Reading, located in Berkshire, England, exists the International Cocoa Quarantine Centre, where tropical cacao plants are kept to prevent the spread of pests and diseases which threaten the world’s chocolate supply. Over at Technische Universität München, physicists have shown that molecular simulations can solve how the chocolate-making process turns bitter cacao to sweet, silky chocolate on a molecular level.
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Mutant Lambs & Herbicide Warfare

September 24, 2015/in What We're Reading/by Grant Alkin

Greenpeace activists protest against a new genetically modified corn, US firm Pioneer’s TC1507, on the Champs de Mars in Paris, in front of the Eiffel tower on February 12, 2014. The banner reads : “Genetically modified organism = Toxic agriculture. Protect us !”. The genetically modified corn TC1507, won EU approval in controversial fashion on February 11, 2014 after a large majority of member states failed to block it. AFP PHOTO / ERIC FEFERBERG

In Europe, the offspring of a genetically modified ewe “escaped” from the French National Institute for Agricultural Research and ended up on the Parisian meat market, sparking discussion on the implications of GM animals in the food supply, scientific literacy of the general public, and mistrust of the scientific community. In America, Monsanto’s latest herbicide-resistant crops continue the conversation on the consequences of accelerated selection for genetic mutations.
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Jet Fuel & Food Waste

September 10, 2015/in What We're Reading/by Grant Alkin

In an effort to decrease air pollution, United Airlines is using a biofuel combination consisting of traditional jet fuel, farm waste, and animal fats. To further shed light on the national food waste dilemma, John Oliver explores the multitude of consequences arising from “farm-to-not-table”.
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Chemical Literacy & Hot Cocoa

August 27, 2015/in What We're Reading/by Grant Alkin

In an age where our food supply system grows increasingly complex, chemical literacy is the key to knowing the difference between foods that contain riboflavin versus vitamin B2. With that in mind, let’s take a look at cocoa powder, which is bitter-tasting and impossible to dissolve. To create a sweet, frothy hot cocoa mix from cocoa powder requires some sweeteners, emulsifiers, and…sodium alluminosilicate?
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Yeast DNA & Dr. Cotton Candy

August 13, 2015/in What We're Reading/by Grant Alkin

Dash Masland was a marine scientist who switched over to beer brewing, using her scientific background to create artworks of the genetic barcodes of the different yeast strains used in various breweries. Over at Vanderbilt University, the Bellan research group is making strides in regenerative medicine using cotton candy and gelatin.
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