Healthy Eating, Probiotics, and your Microbiota We’re still on the general subject of things you may not want to eat. The idea that what you eat has an effect on your health has been well known for centuries. Modern research has been probing this concept more deeply and has shown that it’s not just what you eat, but what happens to it afterwards. After the food you eat gets attacked by acids and digestive enzymes in your stomach, it moves…
Today’s topic is cholesterol by an invited author. | This is the short daily Merry Blogmas science post for December 20. CHOLESTEROL IN EGGS AND OTHER FOODS Since we’ve been discussing eggs, here’s another egg-related topic you’ve probably heard of. Cholesterol is a fatty substance that’s generally considered a problem: High amounts of it in the bloodstream are associated with potentially fatal heart disease. It also makes up a large part of gallstones. Paradoxically, cholesterol is absolutely vital to human life. It…
This is the daily short science blog for the Merry Blogmas 2017 campaign. I will happy when it’s over. Even with decreased or no citations, daily blogging is a bit much. | Today’s post is a ramble about the science and pseudoscience of clay-based facial skin treatment. THE PSEUDOSCIENCE OF CLAY-BASED SKIN TREATMENT I’m not saying that all skin treatments are fake or lack a scientific basis; however, the amount of pseudoscience in the beauty and cosmetics industry is staggering….
This is the daily Merry Blogmas 2017 science post for December 18. | Did you even know that clay minerals like kaolin are used as pesticides? It came as a surprise to me, truth be told. I have had held some hefty pesticides and hazardous materials certifications over the years. So how did I ever miss knowing this? Seriously, that sucking noise you hear is my tongue being removed from my cheek. INTRODUCING KAOLIN Koalin is a catch-all name for…
This is the daily Merry Blogmas 2017 short science post for December 17. 2017. | Today’s topic is boric acid. THERE ARE NO BORIC ACID MINES Seriously, I really should have saved this up for my other blog but this blog is on a schedule. Thus it gets priority these days. I was calmly surfing the net, looking at do-it-yourself recipes using borax, when I came across a site that I refuse to mention here. This unmentionable site not only recommended…
This is the Gnarly Science Merry Blogmas post for December 16, 2017 | If you make your own soap or do a lot of gardening, you probably know where this is going. Many of the oldest element names come from Medieval words like nitrogen from natron or sodium from soda. Some have kept their old names like sulfur. Some have names whose origins are lost to us like antimony. While the roots of most element names are rather mundane, there…
Today we look at something I know you’ve all been wondering about for years. Well wonder no longer for enlightenment on this electrifying subject is now here! WHY CARE ABOUT SPARK PLUG INSULATORS? History-of-technology stuff is really cool. I hope you get as much a charge out of this as I did. In 1902, Gottlob Honold and Robert Bosch built the first true magneto ignition system with the first-ever high-voltage spark plugs. Though there have been many improvements since then,…
This is the daily bite-sized Merry Blogmas 2017 science blog post for December 14. | Today’s topic is hot spring rime, not to be confused with hot Spring rhyme. The latter invokes steamy poetry about certain reproductive activities, a subject better left to cow-eyed romantics and peddlers of questionable erotic “literature.” This is G-rated blog, folks. We are just not going to go there. THE FORMATION OF HOT SPRING RIME What is Rime? Rime is a type of frozen water. Here’s…
This is the bite-sized Merry Blogmas 2017 science post for December 13. Only 12 more to go until Christmas! It’s one of those physical properties you never hear about it school. For example, I personally learned about it from reading a book in graduate school on the science of color. Ideochromatism is a really cool thing because it explains a lot about the things we use as pigments. WHAT IS IDEOCHROMATISM? Ideochromatism is the property of being self-colored. The Latin roots…
Today’s “Merry Blogmas 2017” post is about the vinegar trick for peeling a hard-boiled or soft-boiled egg. This trick isn’t for everyone, but if you’ve tried the other “easy-peeling” measures that usually work, the vinegar trick may be for you. PEELING EGGS BY UNDERSTANDING EGGS Seriously, if you understand how an egg is built then peeling that egg is a lot easier. There’s a previous article on this blog that has discussed this topic in detail. It might help you…