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Akitu Festival: Springtime in Mesopotamia
The Akitu festival falls on the first day of the Babylonian and Assyrian month of Nisan near the Spring Equinox (March or April). Akitu...
Sylvia Rose
3 days ago4 min read
4 views


Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP)
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) is in the central North Pacific Ocean. A massive moving marine dump, it accumulates vast amounts...
Sylvia Rose
6 days ago3 min read
8 views


Water Pollution: Eight Countries in Crisis
Clean water is a life need. Water pollution is a growing concern. Chemicals, microplastics, sewage, industrial waste and agricultural...
Sylvia Rose
Mar 225 min read
21 views


Cassava Root: Nutrition, Toxins & Economy
Cassava ( Manihot esculenta ), also called manioc or yuca, is a woody shrub native to South America. This root vegetable has significant...
Sylvia Rose
Mar 184 min read
12 views


Caffeine: Nature, Characteristics & Health
Caffeine is the world's most widely consumed psychoactive drug. Many rely on its stimulating effects. Caffeine occurs naturally in over...
Sylvia Rose
Mar 175 min read
11 views


Black Tapioca: Sweet Pearls of Bubble Tea
Black tapioca is the sweet ingredient of bubble tea or boba, a popular drink originating in Taiwan. Tapioca is from cassava root, a...
Sylvia Rose
Mar 174 min read
8 views


Citric Acid: Nature, Health & Science
Citric acid is found naturally in citrus fruits and generated by all living cells. It's used in cuisine, medicine, science and industry....
Sylvia Rose
Mar 44 min read
8 views


Food to Energy: Krebs Cycle & Cell Balance
Cellular respiration enables living organisms to turn food into energy. It revolves around the Krebs cycle, also known as the citric acid...
Sylvia Rose
Mar 43 min read
11 views


How to Grow Carrots
Carrots are root vegetables with bright pigments and sweet flavors. Their roots are storage vessels for starch and sugar and peek from...
Sylvia Rose
Mar 42 min read
13 views


How Spacecraft Produce Water for Astronauts
Astronauts on long-duration missions rely on water (H2O) for drinking, hygiene, food preparation, and oxygen generation by electrolysis....
Sylvia Rose
Mar 42 min read
27 views


Agriculture: Calvin Cycle in Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis enables plants to convert sunlight into energy in the form of glucose molecules to support plants and life on Earth....
Sylvia Rose
Mar 44 min read
21 views


Sweet Root Vegetables: Sugar & Starch
Root vegetables like carrots, beets or tuberous sweet potatoes are energy reservoirs. The plants store their power underground, packed...
Sylvia Rose
Mar 35 min read
10 views


Metalloproteins: Biochemistry of Nature & Health
Metalloproteins are biomolecules containing metal ions. From transporting oxygen and cell signals to catalyzing chemical reactions,...
Sylvia Rose
Feb 283 min read
13 views


Sustainable Gardening: Compost & Old Beer
Compost for the garden can benefit from the hidden nutrition of old or flat beer. Leftover brew contains vitamins and minerals to nourish...
Sylvia Rose
Feb 273 min read
12 views


Ancient Salt & Health: Physician Dioscorides
Dioscorides is a physician of Rome in the first century AD. He serves as a doctor in Nero's army and later writes De Materia Medici ,...
Sylvia Rose
Feb 255 min read
9 views


Salt (NaCl): Science, History & Cuisine
Salt is primarily sodium chloride (NaCl). As a naturally occurring mineral it's known as halite or rock salt. Vital for food preservation...
Sylvia Rose
Feb 255 min read
10 views


Homo-Fermentation in Lactic Acid Bacteria
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have been used in fermentation and food processing for thousands of years. The two forms of LAB fermentation,...
Sylvia Rose
Feb 234 min read
9 views


Hetero-Fermentation in Lactic Acid Bacteria
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have different ways of metabolizing nutrients depending on species. Homo-fermentation produces lactic acid,...
Sylvia Rose
Feb 232 min read
10 views


Candida Species: the Good Yeasts
Candida yeasts are prevalent in nature, environment, food, fermentation and human health. Over 200 Candida species are identified, most...
Sylvia Rose
Feb 233 min read
4 views


Salmonella Bacteria: Science & Health
Salmonella is an opportunistic bacterium. Known for its effects on health, it can cause serious foodborne illnesses. All Salmonella...
Sylvia Rose
Feb 234 min read
11 views
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