Cranberries are commonly associated with Thanksgiving but in early America they played a varied role. Besides the berries serving as food, the plant鈥檚 leaves were commonly used for tea or as a...
Xylitol often appears in candies and gum as a low calorie sweetener. It has the added benefit that unlike sugar it does not support the growth of bacteria that can cause cavities. Xylitol鈥檚 name...
For animals wanting to find the healthiest mate, cortisol (stress hormone) levels in their mates could have big implications. Luckily, it appears that animals detect cortisol levels through its...
Honey isn鈥檛 just useful as a topping for your toast; it鈥檚 actually a powerful antimicrobial. To the best of our knowledge, honey never spoils, as it is a supersaturated sugar solution with only 17%...
Turbulence during a flight may make plates crash to the floor but it doesn鈥檛 make planes crash. Airplanes are built to withstand turbulence, but people aren鈥檛, so it can make for a most unpleasant...
Past studies have suggested that a connection may exist between diet and breast cancer. A paper published in the prestigious journal, Science, proposes a possible explanation. It seems that a...
The original mistletoe, Viscum album, (different from the ornamental North American version) got its name from the Anglo-Saxon word 鈥渕istel鈥� for 鈥渄ung鈥� and 鈥渢an鈥� for 鈥渢wig.鈥� Dung-on-a twig really...
What is a kilogram? A seemingly easy question with a bizarre answer. The gram (1/1000th of a kilogram) is defined as the mass of one cubic centimetre of water at 0藲C, so it seems obvious that a...
E-readers might be convenient, but they鈥檒l never have that comforting old book smell. It turns out that the smell of old books is due to the organic materials in books (like cellulose from wood...
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