Underfed worms program their babies to cope with famine. Duke Today, Oct. 27, 2016. Worms whose mothers didn’t get enough to eat during pregnancy cope better with famine, finds a new study of the tiny nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The findings are consistent with a decades-old idea for humans, namely that pregnant women who don’t get enough to eat produce babies with “thrifty” metabolisms that are good at rationing nutrients and storing fat.
Category Archives: food
Why bearcats smell like buttered popcorn
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Why bearcats smell like buttered popcorn. Duke Today, April 13, 2016. The bearcat. The binturong. Whatever you call this shy, shaggy-haired creature from Southeast Asia, many people who have met one notice the same thing: it smells like a movie theater snack bar. Most describe it as hot buttered popcorn. And for good reason — the chemical compound that gives freshly made popcorn its mouthwatering smell is also the major aroma emitted by binturong pee, finds a new study. Picked up by Huffington Post, Scientific American, Discovery News, National Geographic, NPR in Boston, New York Magazine, the Daily Mail, Science News and Popular Science.
Building a better strawberry
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Building a better strawberry. Raleigh News and Observer, June 27, 2011. Scientists and chefs team up to breed a hardier, tastier North Carolina strawberry.
Eat your fruit; it’s good for you
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Eat your fruit; it’s good for you. Raleigh News and Observer, May 16, 2011. Plant scientist Mary Ann Lila hopes to pinpoint the natural compounds in blueberries and other fruits that explain their medicinal powers.
The secret life of yeast bread
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The secret life of yeast bread. Raleigh News and Observer, January 31, 2011. Have you ever wondered why bread rises? Why sourdough bread tastes different from French? A chemist demystifies the science and craft behind one of our most familiar foods.