Toxic Compounds Search Results

News: Sentinel Nerve Cells Spy on the Intestines, Linking Gut & Brain

If the all the fingerlike projections in our gut were flattened out, its surface area would be 100 times bigger than our skin's. It's so large that the actions of just a small part of it can impact our health. A new research study has found that enterochromaffin cells in the intestinal lining alert the nervous system to signs of trouble in the gut — trouble that ranges from bacterial products to inflammatory food molecules.

How To: This Hair Care Product Will Keep Water Spots Off Your Car for Good

Taking care of your car requires effort, whether you take it to the pros for washes, waxes, and detailing, or you spend time to make it shine yourself—and it often seems that, right after your car is sparkling again, rain or midnight moisture appears to cover its surface in water spots. With a small tweak to your typical car care routine, you may be able to keep your car's surface and windows shining longer and better: you just need to add a little hair conditioning liquid.

How To: Keep Garlic from Sticking to Your Hands & Knife

It's a shame that one of the world's tastiest foods can be such a pain to prep. Most cooks are familiar with this conundrum: chopping or crushing garlic releases a pungent liquid that causes bits of garlic to stick your knife and hands, creating a messy affair. So what is going on here? The common assumption is that the garlic is releasing some kind of oil, but the truth is that this liquid rinses away easily in water. Yet one of the basic precepts of chemistry is that oil and water don't mix.

How To: 9 Ways to Cut an Onion Without Shedding Tears

Is it possible to cut or chop onions in the kitchen without stinging eyes and looking as if you just watched the saddest movie ever? Before we get to that answer, it's important to know why we tear up when cutting raw onions in the first place. What is this irritant? Are you reacting to the odor? The answer to the latter question is "no," and the irritant responsible is amino acid sulfoxides.

How To: Paint the body of a guitar

In this tutorial, we learn how to paint a guitar! Before you begin, you will want to take your guitar apart. Once you've done that, go outside and clean your guitar removing any dust on it. Your next step is to smooth the whole body of the guitar with 100 grit followed by 150 grit. After this, hang your guitar up somewhere and apply 4 layers of sanding sealer (which should equal one can). Make sure to sand down the 150 grit between each layer once it's dry, so the next layer has a grip to sti...

How To: Bulk up and gain weight quickly

It seems like people are always trying to lose weight..but what if you have the opposite problem? Whether you’re recovering from an illness, are a growing teen, or you are an athlete trying to bulk up, a little information can go a long way in helping you pack on a few extra pounds.

How To: Get rid of garden snails using nontoxic solutions

Snails can have a devastating effect on your garden but there are ways without using toxic chemicals to get your snail problem under control. You can use pick snails off by hand and throw them away, you can put out iron phosphate based bait, or you can put a bowl of beer out which they will be drawn to and away from your garden.

How To: Soothe and heal chapped nipples

On today's panel discussion the moms reveal the cure to chapped breasts; lanolin cream. Lanolin cream, which can be purchased at any drugstore, helps soothe and heal sore, tender, or chapped nipples. The best part of using pure lanolin is it's edible so it's not toxic to your baby.

News: Watch Out Amateur Mushroom Hunters — Death Caps Are Nothing to Mess With

There is a reason the Amanita phalloides mushroom is called the "Death Cap." It can kill you. Mushrooms are a type of fungi, an organism that produces thread-like mycelia that often produce spores. Spores allow the fungi to reproduce. Molds, lichens, and yeast are all fungi, but the most visible fungi are mushrooms. Some fungi are delicious, but others can cause disease or, and still others, like Penicillium, can cure it.

How To: Caramelize Onions in Half the Time

Caramelized onions are one of those ingredients you can add that immediately makes any dish feel a little fancier. They have that delicious savory-sweet combination, they're great in almost anything, and they're surprisingly easy to pull off at home. So why don't more people make them?

News: The Magic of Komodo Dragon Blood: The Stuff Legends — & Antibiotics — Are Made Of

Despite legends to the contrary, it appears that the saliva of a Komodo dragon is not teeming with pathogenic bacteria that kills their prey. Its reputation to survive while colonized with lots of horrible disease-causing bacteria, true or untrue, has made it the subject of research in pursuit of natural antimicrobial agents and led scientists to some remarkable findings.

How To: Run an ice maker supply line to a refrigerator

In this video, Karen Schmidt demonstrates how to hook up a water supply to a refrigerator where none exists. For this tutorial you will need the following tools and supplies: an ice maker supply line, a tube cutter, a snap-in fitting, a half-inch by quarter-inch compression valve some pipe joint compound and a couple of crescent wrenches. Watch this video to see how you can install an ice maker supply line.

How To: Change your vehicle's brake pads

In this automotive repair video, you'll learn how to change your own brakes. Throughout this process, you'll also figure out how to remove your tire, calipers and brake pads, and how to clean the brake pad area. See how to take off the rotor and reinsert everything correctly. It's an easy process, and you don't need to be a professional mechanic to install new brake pads.

Walkthrough Assassin's Creed 2: Final Mission

In Boca Al Lupo: The end is almost here. This is the last mission you will need to complete. Talk to Mario and he'll send you on your final mission, to assassinate Rodrigo Boriga in the Vatican in Rome. The mission is more linear than any other you've done up to this point, and it requires much stealthiness. But at first, it requires you break into the Vatican. Climb the wall to the west and use the beams sticking out from the wall to jump to a hanging platform to the south.

How To: Spreading Cold Butter Just Got Way Easier with These Clever Hacks

We're a little butter-obsessed here, and that includes topics on why butter should always be browned, the rationale behind clarifying butter, and even how to make a DIY butter candle. And while some may consider the problem strictly one for the first world, we're always very interested in ways to spread cold butter on toast without ripping the bread to shreds. If you read that post, you know the ingenious solutions are many and range from grating your butter to buying a heated butter knife.

How To: Create a glossy vector logo or graphic in Illustrator

To create glossy or reflective vector image, you will need to know how to use the offset options in Adobe Illustrator and the basics for pathfinder. You will be creating a vector image that can be resized without hurting its quality. To start select you text style, which be glossy for this. You will have first a white layer, a shadow, a radiant layer, a white outline and a shadow going underneath. In this video the Oh Gizmo Logo! is being used as the template. Right click create outlines. You...

How To: Install a heat sink for a CNC router

A CNC router machine is probably the most useful tool a hobbyist can own, but the price for a CNC machine on the market is way more than the average hobbyist is willing to spend. You can build your own CNC with very basic tools, little knowledge of machinery, mechanics, or electronics, but be warned, these machines are inherently dangerous, so wear the proper protection and use common sense. At the very least, read the instructions and precautions on every tool you use.