Enlarge / The traditional cheese and charcuterie board is generally considered an excellent pairing for a classic bold red wine. A new study finds that the secret is an interaction between the tannins in wine and lipids in the cheeses and meats. (credit: cafotodigital/Getty Images) Wine aficionados know that a well-paired wine enhances the flavors […]
Enlarge / A future green jet fuel? (credit: Picture Alliance/Getty Images) For many applications, liquid fuels remain the most practical energy supply—applications like aircraft and large ships being obvious examples. It’s possible to avoid using fossil fuels for these applications, since there are many ways of producing biofuels. But we can’t produce biofuels at a […]
As a free agent, days before spring training, Jared Hughes has some time on his hands. So, the 35-year-old pitcher, who had a 4.84 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 18 relief appearances for the Mets last year, is doing a little home science. Read more…
Enlarge / Brewing kombucha tea. Note the trademark gel-like layer of SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). (credit: Olga Pankova/Getty Images) Kombucha tea is all the rage these days as a handy substitute for alcoholic beverages and for its supposed health benefits. The chemistry behind this popular fermented beverage is also inspiring scientists at […]
Enlarge (credit: NASA) In September of last year, a paper announced a startling finding: evidence that a highly unstable chemical is present in the atmosphere of Venus. Since the chemical is expected to be destroyed rather quickly in the Venusian environment, its presence seems to imply that there was a steady source of the chemical, […]
Enlarge / In dry hopping, hops are added during or after the fermentation stage of the brewing process. (credit: Natasha Breen/Getty Images) Craft-beer aficionados relish the endless flavor variations that can be achieved by mixing and matching different varieties of hops, whether one favors refreshing citrus or fruity notes, or one prefers something a bit […]
Enlarge (credit: Wikimedia Commons) Most of the disposable batteries you’ll come across are technically termed alkaline batteries. They work at high pH and typically use zinc as the charge carrier. Zinc is great because it’s very cheap, can be used to make one of the two electrodes, and, in the right context, allows the use […]
Enlarge / Danish explorer Jørgen Brønlund’s petroleum burner was found in 1973. Brønlund and two compatriots died in 1907 during an expedition to Greenland. (credit: Jørn Ladegaard) Over 100 years ago, a Danish explorer named Jørgen Brønlund perished during an expedition to northeast Greenland, along with two members of his expedition. He left behind a […]
Enlarge / Pluto’s atmosphere is fairly hazy. (credit: NASA) Saturn’s moon Titan is distinctive, in part for its orange-ish and hazy atmosphere. It’s virtually impossible to see surface features because the haze is so opaque in the visible portion of the spectrum; what we know of it comes from things like radar imagery, instead. The […]
Expand / / The mixture comprised in Road Dahl’s 1981 children’s novel, George’s Marvelous Medicinethat may be detrimental –even deadly –to grandmas{} BMJ research finds. (charge: YouTube/Storyvision Studios UK) Famous children’s writer Roald Dahl heavily admired physicians who pioneered new medications, as well as committed his 1981 novel, George’s Marvelous Medicine–where a young boy pops […]