Archive for August, 2010
Would you like water with your wine?
Guest blogger, Associate Professor of Classics Matt Panciera, writes: The food science writer Harold McGee recently wrote on the benefits of adding water to various beverages. He found that gin, coffee, and wine all improved their aroma and taste when diluted with water.(See his “Curious Cook” piece on the subject in the New York Times.) […]
Mind to taste
At the Association for Psychological Science 22nd Annual Convention, Linda Bartoshuk was interviewed by Carol Tavris. They covered a wide-range of topics, including how she chose her career, how she discovered supertasters, and the connection between taste perception and health. Watch the complete interview or read the summary on the APS website. In addition, during the […]
Leptin As Treatment For Diabetes?
Earlier this year Science Daily reported that “researchers have found that even a very little bit of the fat hormone leptin goes a long way when it comes to correcting diabetes. The hormone controls the activity of a gene known as IGFBP2 in the liver, which has antidiabetic effects in animals and could have similar […]
Genetically engineered salmon: FDA considers approval
A salmon that grows at twice the ordinary speed is being considered by the FDA to be the first genetically engineered animal approved for human consumption. The fish was engineered at AquaBounty Technologies of Waltham, Massachusetts, a small firm that argues that the fish could “help feed the world.” This article about the fish quotes […]
Federal court overturns FDA approval of genetically engineered sugar beet
A California federal judge has rescinded the approval of Roundup-Ready sugar beets, according to a post on the Center for Food Safety website, and an article in the New York Times. “In September 2009, the Court had found that the USDA had violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by approving the Monsanto-engineered biotech crop […]
That’s disgusting!…and immoral?
Would you eat a cockroach? If you find the very idea disgusting, would you be surprised to learn that some researchers believe that your disgust–a so-called “moral emotion”–is one of the drivers of humans’ higher moral judgments? Psychologists and philosophers at a recent conference on disgust discussed (heh heh) this issue in considerable detail. Some […]
Russian seed bank “one step closer to destruction”
A Russian court refused to interfere with a Russian housing agency’s plans to develop new housing units on the site of a seed bank containing more than five thousand varieties of fruits and ornamental plants. Cary Fowler is quoted in an article in The Guardian as saying “It is a bitter irony that the single […]
Pop Tarts: They are not just for breakfast anymore!
What do you think about Pop Tarts? Did you enjoy them as a kid? Do you crave them now as an adult? What do you think about a NYC store that is DEVOTED solely to Pop-Tarts?? Marion Nestle discusses the latest in food marketing with her blog today on you guessed it: Pop Tarts!
Nourishing the Planet interview with Cary Fowler
Cary Fowler is a member of the “Nourishing the Planet Advisory Group,” a subgroup of the Worldwatch Institute. In this interview with him in the Nourishing the Planet blog, he discusses the significance of crop diversity, the role of the seed bank in safeguarding diversity, and some of the things that individuals might do to […]
GM crops in the wild
Researchers in North Dakota have found genetically modified canola plants thriving in the roadside ditches. Besides the conclusive demonstration of a widespread “escape” into the wild, the research shows that some plants have a mixture of genetic material from two different strains of GM canola–clear evidence of genetic mixing that might produce unexpected plant characteristics. […]