In olfactory neurons, the DNA is arranged like a fried egg: the center of the nucleus is filled with tightly wound DNA, while key genes for smell, like those for olfactory receptors, are spread out in loops away from the center. In people with Alzheimer’s, this arrangement gets scrambled. Early reports of smell loss in people with COVID-19 quickly caught Zazhytska’s attention, and she and her adviser, Stavros Lomvardas, pivoted their research direction as the SARS-CoV-2 virus tore through New York.
by Laura Howes | September 26, 2022
The commitments follow testing by Consumer Reports that found the chemicals in salad containers, bags of french fries, and other materials from two dozen restaurants and grocery stores. A number of other restaurants, including McDonald’s, Panera Bread, Sweetgreen, Taco Bell, and Wendy’s, previously made similar commitments after being pressured by advocacy groups like Mind the Store. PFAS are often used as a cheap way to fortify paper containers because they excel at repelling the moisture and oil from a juicy burger or hot fries. But some PFAS can pose health risks to diners, and they’re highly resistant to environmental degradation. Alternative packaging materials, without added PFAS, are generally less functional and more expensive.
by Matt Blois | April 07, 2022
PFAS are extremely good at rendering paper wraps and containers impervious to grease and moisture oozing from hamburgers, french fries, and other foods. Today, fast-food chains and grocery stores are realizing that fluorochemicals are not always the wonder materials they were made out to be. PFAS are environmentally persistent, and some are toxic.
by Cheryl Hogue | October 03, 2021
—Peptides from fermented tofu make salt taste saltier “Flavor enhancers like these could reduce the sodium content in food” Sufu is a traditional condiment in Chinese cuisine, often added to dishes like stir-fried vegetables or a rice porridge called congee. To make sufu, tofu is fermented with a fungus and then brined with salt and alcohol, producing a white, cheese-like product with a creamy texture and a rich, floral flavor.
by Emily Harwitz | September 07, 2021
—Carb-eating ancestors and off-gassing ears “ ” Snarfing down carbs is ancient Modern humans gobble up doughnuts, potato chips, yuca fries, rice, and other starchy victuals with great gusto. Despite what advocates of certain low-carb diets may say about our ancestors eating more meat and less grain, noshing on foods dense in carbohydrates is a behavior we share with our long-ago relatives, according to an international team of researchers.
by Cheryl Hogue | June 26, 2021
Aldicarb, an older carbamate insecticide, “is one of the world’s most toxic pesticides and is banned in more than 100 countries,” Nikki Fried, Florida’s agriculture commissioner, says in a statement. The US Environmental Protection Agency declared in 2010 that aldicarb may pose health risks to infants and young children.
by Britt E. Erickson | May 02, 2021
During his master’s research at the University of Technology, Malaysia, Md Tareq Rahman was able to replace up to 15% of a conventional binder with a mixture of crumb rubber, discarded cooking oil from a local Kentucky Fried Chicken, and palm-oil fuel ash (Constr. Build. Mater. 2017, DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.05.216).
by Raleigh McElvery, special to C&EN | February 28, 2021