Again thanks to Laura for this site. If you’ve ever wanted to know what non-food bits are allowed in food (we’re talking insect parts, rodent hairs, mold, etc) then check out the US FDA/CFSAN Defect Action Level Handbook.
Okay it is gross. Kinda scary too. File under: “OMG I can’t believe I eat that“. You’ve been warned.
Technorati tags: food safety, food contaminants
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How many of you have gone to make a sandwich and saw a mold spot on a slice or two, and just pitched those and used the “mold free” slices? Yeah me too. Ever felt kinda “off” later? Ditto. Why? I didn’t eat the moldy pieces? Well, the mold you see on the surface is just the “flower”, the fruiting body, the part that is spreading more mold spores around, the rest of the mold is actually throughout the rest of the bread (or what ever). Mold spreads through an entire host to draw nutrients from it, so even though …read more
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Did you know that besides your mouse and keyboard, your cell phone is a huge bacteria vector? Heck even the bottom’s of your shoes are cleaner than you cell phone! I try to wipe mine off often, and use computer screen cleaner on it too, unfortunately cell phones don’t take well to most disinfection methods (I’d be wary of sprying Lysol on it). So maybe borrowing your friend’s cell phone might not be a great idea.
Technorati tags: dirty cellphones
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The easy answer to this question is that, nobody knows. I know it’s a pretty lame answer but it’s the truth. Mouth ulcers, or canker sores, are those painful sores in your mouth usually on the inside of the lips, gums, or tongue. I suffered from mouth ulcers for most of my life and have tried just about everything to get relief and make them heal faster.
My dad and my dentist both prescribed a steroid-based paste that I would smear on the all sores that was supposed to reduce the swelling and protect them so they can heal.
Really this treatment wasn’t …read more
Quick, name Newton’s laws … eh, don’t bother I have them summarized below. Regardless sometimes the concepts of inertia, equal and opposite reactions, and force can be hard to wrap your head around. Over on ScienceBase I found this little YouTube video on these very principles. Oh and here’s the list:
Newton’s laws underpin so-called classical mechanics, as opposed to quantum mechanics or relativity theory. I’ve summarised them below, but you’ll get a much clearer understanding of bodies in motion if you watch the video.
Objects stay still or move with constant velocity unless a force pulls on them or gives them …read more
It’s another channel theme day here in the old SciHealth Channel. Since it’s February the theme is, you guessed it, love.
I was thinking about looking into the biochemistry of love. Then there is always chocolate. Lots of good science there. Yeah I know chocolate doesn’t have all the magic properties we once thought (hey I still feel better after a nice KitKat), although dark chocolate is now considered to be teaming with antioxidants. Really though, as un scientific as this sounds, there are some things that should remain a little mysterious.
Attraction. You can talk about like seeking like and pheromones, …read more
One of my big soapbox items is that people should be able to generate electricity at home and feed that back into the grid to help the whole system and shave money off their bill. I usually think about solar, wind, or even micro-hydro when I envision this system, but here’s an interesting idea, a gas-fired generator that powers the house, surplus heat heats the house, and extra power goes back into the grid.
Customers who have been beta testing the system in Massachusetts end up with comparatively tiny electric charges of a few dollars in winter months, Guyer said.That’s because …read more
You have to love bringing the good old chemistry set into the 21st century. Come on, foaming test tubes is sooo last century. DNA is hot man (sorry for you DNA folks, yes I caught the pun … old DNA sequencing techniques used radioactive materials, so they are "hot"). Hsien (our faithful leader) highlights a fun DNA kit for kids.
Can you imagine? Dad, I need a DNA swab from you, we suspect you ate half of the last cookie ….
Tags: science for kids DNA
Saw this on LifeHacker today … nuke your sponges to kill bacteria.
Nuking your sponge at full power for two minutes can kill roughly 99 percent of the viruses and bacteria living inside your little cleaning disease-magnet
I’ve known this for a while, but this article reminded me about it. Yes, it’s really true. The reason is that the water trapped in the interstial spaces of the sponge heat to boiling and boil the little buggers to death. So, yes, being wet is important. Oh, and don’t leave it in there too long (I think a min is all it takes, …read more
Thanks again to Laura for this really cool link (she fessed up she got a calendar for Xmas with a cool link a day). Ever want to know more about snow and snowflakes than you ever thought possible? This is the place. I haven’t scratched the surface of the site, but I’m sure there will be cool (ha ha) projects and stuff to do.
Speaking of snowflakes, on CSY:NY last night one of the CSIs fix a snowflake to a slide with superglue to look at its structure and then be able to set a time. Okay, I know CSI is …read more
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