Look a little closer at the origin of your turmeric, garlic powder, or cinnamon and you might find disturbing additions of contamination. Salmonella bacteria and lead contamination have led to recent recalls of herbs and spices destined for your plate. Over on our sister site Food-Contact-Surfaces.com we examine contamination in the world […]
Working in a cleanroom is one of the most interesting, rewarding, and – let’s admit it – at times frustrating jobs around. As anyone familiar with the environment will attest, the rules around performance are complex and labyrinthine, and – in a good cleanroom – they’re updated and perfected almost constantly. From the tasks to […]
From the earliest times in human civilization, healers and physicians have dreamed of curing the sick and repairing the injured by transplanting organs or bones. The most common procedure, allogenic skin grafting – the process of transplanting skin from a donor to a patient – is now widely used to resurface burns, help close large […]
Traditionally, New Years resolutions are more subjective and personal commitments. We dedicate ourselves to losing the ten pounds that crept on over the holidays, quitting junk food, taking up running, or finally kicking nicotine to the curb. In short, they’re health-related commitments that improve our lives in tangible, measurable, and personal ways. And improving our […]
Anyone who’s ever driven a car has been there. It’s a common enough scenario: you’re sitting in traffic on the freeway during the morning commute, the sun’s climbing slowly into the sky, its pale light casting a wan glow over the road ahead. Pausing to sip the coffee you grabbed at the drive-thru, you notice […]
Throughout the history of US space travel exploration, big concepts have dominated. Big budgets, big ideas, big dreams, and big names. Founded in 1958 under the Eisenhower administration, one such name – the North American Space Agency (NASA) – was to become the center point of aerospace development and research. Initially founded as a response […]
What do self-driving cars have in common with solar power? If you were hoping we’d be announcing the development of a car that runs purely on the power of the sun you are a more optimistic reader than we’d imagined! Perhaps one day we’ll be able to bring you that kind of news but, for […]
Octopuses are mysterious and frankly quite bizarre creatures. Invertebrates of the phylum Mollusca (molluscs) and the class Cephalopod, they are neurologically advanced aquatic animals which have existed since the Carboniferous era some 300 million years ago. And given that history, octopuses – and their close cousins the squid and the cuttlefish – have a long […]
It has to be said: the human body is an amazing and ingenious piece of biological equipment. When it suffers an incision, it self-heals; when it is damaged, it can – at times – regenerate. And when its central command control – the brain – is impaired, it will oftentimes re-route communications via different parts […]
A Shimmering Red Presence in the Clear Night Sky* The year is 2035 and Mark Watney, botanist and mechanical engineer, casts a wary eye over the latest weather report. A dust storm with intense winds is approaching and it’s time for him to move to safety. The rest of his team sets out but Watney […]