SciFood Blog

scifood.blogAbsinthe: Does The Green Fairy Have No Clothes?Absinthe seems to come to us out of the mists, the alleyways and the side streets of Belle Epoque Paris. The verdant symbol of bohemian excess, absinthe speaks to us of the heyday of the Montmartre. A time when bars like the Moulin Rouge and Le Rat Mort1 provided the chaotic playgrounds for those from all levels of French society with a taste for excess.

11 May

Absinthe has a mystique and a reputation as an aphrodisiac, a muse and a destroyer of men and women. But does the green fairy have no clothes? Does absinthe deserve its reputation? Find out in my new post.

scifood.blogHow To Cook FishIn some of the earliest posts I wrote for this blog I discussed how cooking meat is all about anatomy. Understanding the anatomy of muscles, and how particular muscles are used by the animal, helps you understand which muscles are tender and which are tough. The toughest meat is from the muscles that did the most work when the animal was alive.

30 Apr

Learning how to cook fish can be a bit daunting. Bones everywhere, crumbly flesh threatening to disintegrate and skin that just sticks to everything. Can the science of fish help with cooking them? Find out in my latest post.

scifood.blogHow To Stay Healthy In a Salty WorldWhenever a human is eating, a salt shaker is never too far away. For six thousand years we've relied on salt to improve our food. To make the uninteresting interesting and the bland, well, less bland. Though our ancestors often found it hard to get enough salt, in the modern world we are awash with the stuff. Without even seeming to try, the average human being on the planet consumes twice as much salt per day than what is considered healthy for us.

15 Apr

We need salt to live but the average human eats twice as much salt as is healthy for them. Find out why we crave salt and why it can be too much of a good thing (and who to blame)

arstechnica.comGoogle will begin punishing sites for back button hijacking in JuneGoogle says it could penalize back button hijacking by demoting websites in search ranking.

14 Apr

About time! arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026...

arstechnica.comarstechnica.com

9 Apr

We take ourselves so seriously. Yeah we've got big guns, CNN, reporters, diplomats and deranged Presidents. But we're still just squabbling chimpanzees arstechnica.com/science/2026...

theguardian.comScientists develop gene-edited wheat that can make toasted bread less carcinogenicBread and biscuits made from Crispr-edited wheat showed substantially reduced acrylamide levels

8 Apr

I'm not sure that toast is a significant cancer risk in today's world, but we're saved anyway www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

arstechnica.comHow did Anthropic measure AI's "theoretical capabilities" in the job market?2023 study made a lot of assumptions about future "anticipated LLM-powered software."

6 Apr

Antibiotic resistance is going to be the next thing that sneaks up and bites us on the arse aeon.co/essays/antib...

Good example of doing a proper analysis on some Anthropic bullshit The entire IT industry is based on getting crap products to market as quickly as possible and then hyping the crap out of them We're just witnessing the birth of the next Microsoft arstechnica.com/ai/2026/03/h...

theguardian.com‘Something out of the ordinary’: why are Japan’s oysters dying en masse?A death rate of up to 90%, attributed to warming seas, is threatening the trade in Hiroshima prefecture, which produces most of the country’s farmed oysters

I only just discovered Hiroshima oysters and now they are dying 🙁 www.theguardian.com/environment/...

SciFood Blog reposted

Teresa Robeson

@teresarobeson.com

Alas, I have the common Asian "alcohol flush reaction"...but it's probably doing me some good. 😄 Via @scifood.blog - Do We Love Mum's Cooking Because She Made Us as Well as Dinner? scifood.blog/2026/03/31/d...

theconversation.comThe revolution in dinosaur science started 50 years ago – here’s what we have learnedScientific methods validated from modern life have brought dinosaurs to life in a testable way.

Dinosaurs! theconversation.com/the-revoluti...

scifood.blogDo We Love Mum’s Cooking Because She Made Us as Well as Dinner?In our popular culture we have a complicated relationship with mutants. For every Teenage Mutant Turtle and Wolverine, there is a Magneto, a Jason Vorhees or a Thing. The hillbillies from Deliverance probably qualify as mutants but I'm not sure whether Godzilla is a good guy or a bad guy? Are zombies mutants? Regardless, it seems that everyone agrees that messing with your DNA is a risky proposition.

Genetics may have a lot more to do with our food preferences than we think. I go on about this a bit in my latest post.

arstechnica.comOutbreak linked to raw cheese grows; 9 cases total, one with kidney failureRaw Farm denies link to illnesses while patients keep identifying its products.

28 Mar

Don't drink raw milk arstechnica.com/health/2026/...

arstechnica.comOpenAI “indefinitely” shelves plans for erotic ChatGPTSome staff reportedly questioned how sexy ChatGPT benefits humanity.

26 Mar

This would have been an interesting project indeed. Apparently "difficulties" were encountered!! arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...

arstechnica.com"The last straw"—RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine ally angrily quits CDC panel after spatRobert Malone quit a vaccine panel, blaming an HHS spokesperson for "trashing" him.

25 Mar

What happens when you cram a bunch of anti-vaxx, conspiracy theory lunatics into a committee supposed to safe-guard the health of millions of people? That's right! DRAMA! arstechnica.com/health/2026/...

arstechnica.comAntibiotic resistance among germs swells during droughts, study suggestsStudy links two crises: Climate change and antibiotic-resistant infections.

25 Mar

Drought conditions favour the evolution of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Not that that's a concern is it? No climate change happening around here ... arstechnica.com/health/2026/...

theguardian.comUS under-45s struggle for insurance approval as colon cancer rates riseACA requires firms to cover colonoscopies for over-45s but young people face hurdles to receive appropriate tests

If insurance companies wont insure it anymore it is definitely become something of a crisis for under-45s www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

theguardian.comWorkers who fall for ‘corporate bullshit’ may be worse at their jobs, study findsNew study finds that employees impressed by corporate speak may be least equipped to make effective decisions

People impressed by corporate jargon are the worst employees - who'd of thought? www.theguardian.com/business/202...

nature.comIntestinal interoceptive dysfunction drives age-associated cognitive decline - NatureAge-related microbiome changes increase medium-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria, driving GPR84-mediated myeloid inflammation, impaired vagal signalling and hippocampal dysfunction; targeting this g...

More evidence for a link between cognitive decline and your microbiome www.nature.com/articles/s41...

theconversation.comClaims about genetic superiority ignore the real drivers of human inequalityClaims that genes determine intelligence, health and social outcomes are reappearing. But modern science shows environment and opportunity matter far more than genes.

The irony of "intelligent" people trying to discriminate on some genetic basis for intelligence Mentioning eugenics should be number one red flag Do that, you're arrested and off come the balls. Don't need that level of stupid round here buddy. theconversation.com/claims-about...

arstechnica.comYou're likely already infected with a brain-eating virus you've never heard ofFatal brain infection was thought to be from profound immune suppression. Not anymore.

22 Mar

The history of 'bitch' aeon.co/essays/what-...

As if I didn't have enough to worry about arstechnica.com/health/2026/...

theguardian.comStephanie Alexander: ‘I get enraged at the idea that to be healthy has become a trend’The cookbook legend on food anxiety, the joy of family dinners and why she has ‘absolutely no time for’ protein shakes

22 Mar

Some wisdom www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

nature.comA complete set of canonical nucleobases in the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu - Nature AstronomySamples returned from the asteroid Ryugu contain all five canonical nucleobases (A, G, C, T and U). Their presence in Ryugu and Bennu supports the hypothesis that carbonaceous asteroids contributed to...

16 Mar

It's not the first time, but paper published yesterday shows all the nucleotides present on an asteroid. Suggesting that questions about the origins of life need to go beyond just Earth Some commentary here as well: theconversation.com/all-5-fundam... www.nature.com/articles/s41...

theconversation.comFlesh-eating bacteria spread from possums and mozzies. But Buruli ulcers are preventable and treatableCases of Buruli ulcer have been detected on the New South Wales south coast. Here’s how to protect yourself.

16 Mar

The world's most dangerous animal might be a vector for a flesh eating bacteria to move between possums and humans Also some good advice for managing mosquitoes around your home theconversation.com/flesh-eating...

scifood.blogTomatoes and Fake NewsHumans love a good story. We also love a simple story. We like our good guys to be good, our bad guys to be bad, we like a message that reinforces our beliefs and we definitely like some closure, everything wrapped up with a nice little bow. Our love of a well-formed narrative, and our tendency to use them to interpret the world around us, creates a divergence between our narrative choices and the real world.

15 Mar

You often hear that tomatoes were feared and that rich people died after eating them off pewter plates. Find out if this is really true in my latest post.

SciFood Blog reposted

Teresa Robeson

@teresarobeson.com

12 Dec 2024

I am thrilled!!! to have CLOUDS IN SPACE as one of @smithsonianmag.bsky.social scholars’ picks for “Best Books of 2024” 😍 www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/t... Wait, have I mentioned that I am thrilled??? 😉

smithsonianmag.comThe Best Books of 2024, as Chosen by Smithsonian ScholarsStaff at the Institution pick their favorite reads of the year, including riveting memoirs, fascinating true histories and fun fiction

arstechnica.comWoman sneezes out maggots after fly larvae get trapped in her deviated septumShe made a full recovery, despite the maggots.

14 Mar

What a wonderful world 🪰 arstechnica.com/health/2026/...

theconversation.comRising CO₂ levels are reflected in human blood. Scientists don’t know what it meansIf recent trends continue, the atmosphere may become a little toxic to breathe in 50 years.

11 Mar

As they say in the article, correlation does not mean causation but an intriguing and slightly worrying idea theconversation.com/rising-co-le...

theguardian.com‘I took two bites and had to spit it out’: candy makers are phasing out real cocoa in chocolateDue to the volatile cocoa market, companies like Hershey are using replacement ingredients such as sugar, oil, milk and nuts

11 Mar

Well doesn't this just put the cherry on the sugar, oil, milk and nuts emulsion cake! www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

theconversation.com5 top tips for the perfect compost – according to scienceIs your compost a veritable Vesuvius of foul-smelling, putrescible plant waste? You might be doing everything wrong. Fear not; you can learn from your mistakes.

10 Mar

My grandmother's compost heap was a fascinating thing when I was a child. But never really saw one again for a long time as people stopped doing it. theconversation.com/5-top-tips-f...

theguardian.com‘Everyone feels like they are being scammed’: can Central America’s small coffee growers survive as global prices fall?Family-run farms in El Salvador and Honduras face mounting losses, rising costs – and the need to adapt or be left behind

10 Mar

Who doesn't feel like they're being scammed at the moment? www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

arstechnica.comAmericans trust Fauci over RFK Jr. and career scientists over Trump officialsRFK Jr. has tried hard to villainize Fauci. Americans still trust Fauci more.

6 Mar

Some good news - I wonder how this splits down party lines arstechnica.com/health/2026/...

arstechnica.comHow moss helped convict grave robbers of a Chicago cemeteryBurr Oak Cemetery is the final resting place of Emmett Till and blues singer Willie Dixon, among others.

6 Mar

The tell tale moss! arstechnica.com/science/2026...

theguardian.comMore than 220m children will be obese by 2040 without drastic action, report warnsWorld Obesity Federation says half a billion children will be overweight and calls on governments to act to create healthier environments

4 Mar

I worry about humans when we can't even feed our children properly, not to mention corporations who are profiting off people not feeding their children properly www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

arstechnica.comWhat we can learn from scientific analysis of Renaissance recipesMultispectral imaging, proteomics, historical texts yield new insights into 16th-century medical manuals.

4 Mar

Books were really the internet of the renaissance arstechnica.com/science/2026...

scifood.blogHelminths Exposed: Inside the Sometimes Gross World of Food Borne ParasitesIn 1865, Otto von Bismarck, the conqueror of France, the architect of German unification, Germany's first Chancellor and the steely-eyed hard man of realpolitik challenged a scientist to a duel. This wasn't an early case of nerd hazing. Rudolf Virchow, apart from his scientific career, was also the leader of the Progressive Party and one of Bismarck's most vocal opponents…

4 Mar

If you dare, take a peak into the gross world of food borne helminth parasites in my latest blog post

theconversation.comAustralians scorn this fish once adored by monks and kingsCarp is a prized table fish in Europe but despised in Australia. How did we get here?

2 Mar

I honestly didn't know you could eat carp. theconversation.com/australians-...

theconversation.comHoney from Australian wildflowers has potent power to kill bacteriaThe next jar of Australian honey you buy may just be doing more good than you realise.

2 Mar

Australian honey is good for what ails ya theconversation.com/honey-from-a...

arstechnica.comHyperion author Dan Simmons dies from stroke at 77I went into Hyperion blind, decades ago, knowing almost nothing about it. I was never the same.

28 Feb

I love Hyperion (and the other books as a kid). At the time had no idea that the whole thing was fusing The Canterbury Tales and science fiction. Just loved the stories. arstechnica.com/culture/2026...

science.orgEthanol ingestion via frugivory in wild chimpanzeesNatural daily consumption of dietary alcohol by chimpanzees suggests human attraction to alcohol may come from our ancestral diet.

25 Feb

Called the "drunk monkey" theory it suggests our proclivity for alcohol goes back to our simian ancestors. It relies on monkeys actually eating rotten fruit So in this study one group of monkeys followed another group of monkeys to see how boozed up they got 🙂 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

arstechnica.comCould a vaccine prevent dementia? Shingles shot data only getting stronger.Latest data hints that benefits seen so far could be underestimates.

25 Feb

I predict many middle-aged anti-vaxxers will soon be softening their stance on vaccines arstechnica.com/health/2026/...

theguardian.comMyth, monsters and making sense of a disenchanted world: why everyone is reading fantasyI have made the leap from literary fiction to fantasy – for those who think it’s mere wish-fulfilment, here’s why we need that thing with the dragons

22 Feb

All the things that got me called a nerd and beaten up as a child are now mainstream! A little annoying to be honest. www.theguardian.com/books/2026/f...

scifood.blogPhylloxera: The American Grape Vine Pest That Almost Ruined My Saturday NightsCan you imagine a world without French wine? A world without the wines of Champagne, Bordeaux, Burgundy and Provence? A world in which French people don't look down their nose at the wines of the rest of the world? Is such a world even possible? Well, in the late 19th century this is exactly the world that almost came into being.

22 Feb

If you like wine, find out how we almost lost it all thanks to a American insect and how disaster was averted thanks to some crazy plant biology.

arstechnica.comMAHA moms threaten to turn this car around as RFK Jr. flips on pesticideMAHA members call movement a "sham" after Kennedy supports glyphosate order.

22 Feb

I'm not sure why it comes as such a shock to people when the lying, corrupt demagogue you allied yourself with to further your own agenda turns around and bites you? arstechnica.com/health/2026/...

theguardian.com‘We’re no longer attracting top talent’: the brain drain killing American scienceAs Trump slashes science funding, young researchers flee abroad. Without solid innovation, the US could cease to have the largest biomedical ecosystem in the world

19 Feb

As someone who has worked in the States as a biomedical researcher and who was funded by the NIH when I set up my own lab, it is heartbreaking seeing what Trump is doing to the next generation of biomedical researchers www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...