There's an ongoing debate about whether or not it's safe or even desirable to rinse meat before you cook it. Many fall into the anti-rinsing camp, saying that it's not effective at dislodging bacteria, especially on poultry, as we've discussed before. Meanwhile, some argue that rinsing certain meats, like bacon, could be beneficial since it possibly prevents it from shrinking.
Chances are that you've been using your microwave just to nuke leftovers, but they can do so much more than heat up last night's dinner—microwaves can help you peel garlic more quickly, get more juice out of lemons, disinfect your kitchen, dry out herbs, give beauty products new life, cause exciting explosions, and even arc weld.
How would you feel if the stethoscope used by your doctor to listen to your heart and lungs was teeming with potentially unfriendly bacteria?
As our cells age, they eventually mature and die. As they die, they alert nearby cells to grow and multiply to replace them. Using a special imaging process that combines video and microscopy, scientists have observed the cellular communication between dying and neighboring cells for the first time, and think they may be able to use their new-found information against cancer cells, whose damaged genomes let them escape the normal dying process.
In the race to outsmart "untreatable" antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea, one of the three new treatments on the track is about to enter Phase 3 clinical trials. Hopefully, it'll be widely accessible sooner rather than later, for the 78 million people who are diagnosed with gonorrhea each year.
Being a city dweller does not mean you cannot save the planet — or your food scraps. Climate change and resource management are big issues. Composting in any size space is not only possible, but it gives you a chance to reduce greenhouse gasses and reuse food scraps. Right now, about 40% of all food in the US goes to the landfill. In addition to planning meals and using your food in creative ways to reduce the amount that goes to waste, you can compost.
A 'superbug' fungus is currently running riot in the hospitals of New York and New Jersey. This outbreak of Candida auris has contributed to 17 deaths in NYC, according to recent reports.
Obstetric tetanus in an unvaccinated Amish woman after a home birth has emphasized the need for preventative healthcare.
There has been an outbreak of syphilis in Oklahoma County with 75 confirmed cases connected by a social network driven by drug use and sex.
The office of your physician, or your local hospital, is where you go when you need medical care. But it could also be where you could pick up a life-threatening infection.
There have been seven more people sickened from four states since the I.M. SoyNut Butter E. coli outbreak was announced earlier this month. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Washington Department of Health have confirmed the I.M. Healthy SoyNut Butter was the cause of the outbreak in an update today.
Some studies have shown that vitamin D supplements help fight respiratory infections, but some haven't. A new study published in The BMJ clarified the confusion, and identified a group of people that might be better able to fight off colds and flu with vitamin D supplements.
To shine light on the future of the relationship between humans and viruses, a team of researchers from the University of Oxford looked into the dim and distant past.
Hear me out. No, really. Before you sharpen your pitchforks and give me anecdotal evidence of your Chinese restaurant syndrome, I think you need to know a few things about monosodium glutamate. First of all, it's a naturally-occurring chemical compound that can be found in anything from tomatoes to cheese, and is used in all kinds of foods from KFC to breakfast sandwiches. So spare me the comments on MSG and Chinese food—you probably eat MSG on a daily basis without even knowing it. (And also...
For me, the smoky brilliance of a good barbecue can't be beat. The way the smoke flavor seems to permeate every part of the meat is, in my opinion, the closest thing we have to food magic. Throw a piece of meat in a smoker with some select wood choices, wait a few hours, and suddenly you have something rich, complex, and bursting with smoky flavors.
When there's no more pickles in the pickle jar, most of you probably dump the remaining brine down the drain and recycle the bottle. While recycling is commendable, throwing out good pickle "juice" is not.
Frosting, for many, is the best part of the cake. There's not much to dislike about it, after all—there's a type of frosting for every person. Whipped frostings for those who like it light, dense buttercream for indulgent sugar fans, cream cheese frosting for the tangy crowd... and so on. But I'll bet you've never made or tried frosting made with Jell-O packages before! Infusing your frosting with the sweetness and bright color of Jell-O changes both its taste and appearance, and using Jell-O...
I love eating fish at restaurants—the flesh is flaky and tender; the scent, fresh and sweet. Cooking fish at home is a completely different story, though. Even when I do cook successful fish dishes, it often leaves this (for lack of a better description) fishy smell that permeates everything it touches. Monday's salmon becomes Wednesday's odor. It's enough to deter me from cooking fish, period.
Watermelons scream summer like no other fruit, and there's nothing like biting into a sweet one on a hot summer day. Although there's no exact right way to cut watermelon, there are many occasions when you might not want to cut it into wedges. It may be the classic cut, but the triangular shape insures that you'll always get some on your face. And for parties, there's always the messy problem of leftover rinds.
I have a thing for black foods, whether it's mysterious, lovely black garlic (the secret to its color: fermentation) or adding charcoal powder with its reputed health benefits to cookies, cakes, and breads.
Cold pizza is the holy grail of leftovers. That's a statement that elicits a slew of impassioned feelings. Either you love the idea of biting into soft crust and cold, fatty cheese, or scowl at the idea of pizza that isn't hot, crisp, and melty. Yet if we were to stand by the former sentiment, how would we argue on its behalf? Food Science Explains Why Cold Pizza Rules
Having someone send you flowers will almost always lift your spirits. Wilting, dying flowers, on the other hand, aren't so great to look at and smell even worse. While there are time-honored tricks to keep flowers alive longer (change the water regularly, put a penny in the bottom of the vase, and cut stems diagonally are three that come to mind), it turns out that a few items in your kitchen are pretty useful at making sure those blooms stay perky.
Salad greens are a staple in my house and for good reason: they're cheap, nutritious, and work as a base or an accompaniment for almost all meals. However, it's all too easy to forget about them and then pull out a bag filled with sludgy dark goo or yellow, inedible leaves.
Coffee is a topic that everyone has a strong opinion about, especially when it comes to brewing the perfect cup. Even if you buy the best beans and grind them yourself, chances are you're skipping one necessary step to make sure your coffee tastes the best it can: cleaning your coffeemaker the right way.
Beef aficionados love a medium-rare burger, but many people are wary of meat that's on the pink or red side since it might contain bacteria. Is it possible to enjoy a burger that's perfectly juicy and yet also cooked thoroughly enough to destroy all traces of salmonella, E. coli, and other microbes that cause foodborne illness? Absolutely! You just need to know a trick (or three).
You don't always plan on getting drunk, it usually just sort of happens, right? You finish one beer, move on to the next, and all of a sudden you're a six-pack in and feelin' it. And when you're drinking in places you're not supposed to, it can get ugly.
Is your fridge getting out of control? Can't identify that raunchy smell that has invaded your ice box? Can't find your ketchup? The best way to alleviate these problems is by organization. Organizing and keeping your fridge tidy is the best way to go, but it could be hard in a roommate situation where one said roommate will never give a damn. Nonetheless… chill out! Use these helpful tips to get your refrigerator organized.
How to make a compost pile with green and brown materials
It doesn’t matter how long ago your last geometry class was, you can still impress your friends by finding a geometric mean. The geometric mean can be used to find the average of numbers with out unusually high or low results effecting the result.
You may not have heard of visceral leishmaniasis, onchocerciasis, or lymphatic filariasis, and there is a reason for that. These diseases, part of a group of infections called neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), impact more than a billion people on the planet in countries other than ours. Despite the consolation that these often grotesque illnesses are "out of sight, out of mind," some of these infections are quietly taking their toll in some southern communities of the US.
Pumpkin carving and decorating is a favorite October pastime. After you've carved an amazing design or face into a pumpkin or two, you want to show it off through your window or set it out on your porch for the neighbors to see.
Food labeling is a tricky beast. For instance, when I read the words "cage-free" on an egg carton, I think it means that happy chickens frolic in a sunlit meadow all the livelong day until they're gently herded into a clean, sweet-smelling coop to lay a few dozen eggs—which I can purchase for a reasonable price, of course.
The origins of vodka are shrouded in mystery, with both Russia and Poland laying claim to its invention. Some say Genovese merchants brought vodka (then known as aqua vitae, or the water of life) in the late fourteenth century to Russia. For many years, vodka wasn't just an alcoholic beverage: it was also consumed as medicine.
I don't know how many of you had this experience in your youth, but when I was a kid, I used to actively think about what would happen if I suddenly woke up in a fantasy land, or were to pass through a portal into another space and time. I knew it wouldn't really happen, but when you're a kid, these can be important issues to you. So I slept with my glasses on every night, just in case. Photo from George Pal's The Time Machine.
Remove all those dust mites and pet dander from your pillows on a regular basis with a good wash in hot water. Pillows can be a little trickier to wash than other linens so keep you pillows fresh and new by following proper washing instructions.
Every state has begun reopening in some capacity. While there are important steps for everyone to get back to work and begin socializing, precautions will be in place for some time, especially with an expected second wave coming this fall. The virus is not over.
It is a scary time to be alive. As states start to ease back shelter-in-place restrictions, the new world you're entering is still unsafe. With a vaccine months away, your best bet is to follow CDC guidelines and use the tools at your disposal.
A virus easily spread among trout and salmon could make it harder to keep your favorite fish on the menu.
Wherever there are people, the party is sure to follow. Well, a party of microbes, at least. That is what scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have found after a 30-day microbial observation of the inflatable lunar/Mars analog habitat (IMAH).
Twelve-year old Rory Staunton took a dive for a basketball during gym class and came up with a cut on his arm. The school nurse applied a couple of band-aids, without cleaning the cut, and off he went. In approximately three days, hospital physicians told his parents there was nothing else that they could do for their son; he was dead.
