"scientists" news and stories

If you want to believe the most recent food-causing-cancer study, you'll have to cross another thing off the list of foods that we aren't supposed to eat. A Swedish study has just linked sugar consumption to an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. The study followed almost 80,000 people aged 45-83 for about 7 years and noted that those who added five or more servings of sugar to their food were "69 percent more likely to develop pancreatic cancer than those who never added sugar to their food or drink." Drinking multiple soft drinks and eating sweetened or stewed fruit increased the risk, too.

But like the study that linked bread to cancer, this is far from conclusive. The study found no evidence of increased risk from eating "sweets, marmalade, or jams," all of which are typically high in sugar. And other studies have linked diabetes and obesity to an increased risk on pancreatic cancer, both of which are not necessarily only linked to the consumption of sugary drinks. There was no mention of what the difference might be between the quality of sugar found in stewed fruit versus that found in jam.

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In New Zealand, scientists have been able to determine precisely which genes are responsible for the individual flavors and scents of fruits and flowers. As a result of this breakthrough, it will now be possible to actually produce natural flavorings without having to resort to chemical extractions or other synthetic processes, not to mention that it will save time trying to match the flavors of new products to natural ones. The scientists inserted the newly-identified genes into bacteria and model plants, which then produced the same results. Using a process known as biofermentation, they will be able to harvest the flavors and smells from the cultures in which they are grown and then implant them into food products (or perfumes).

The upshot of all of this is that it opens the door to a nearly infinite number of flavors - all-natural flavors, at that. As consumer demand increasingly grows for "natural" products, it seems likely that novel, but natural, flavorings could catch on. Green apple potato chips, anyone?

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Cream cheese was developed in America in 1872. It is unusual, different from other cheeses, not because of its smooth creamy texture, but because of how it is made. While many cheeses are thickened with an enzyme in rennet, cream cheese is thickened with the addition of an acid.

That may sound like a reasonably simple process, but the truth is the cream cheese is hard to make. And when things go wrong and the cheese comes out smelling like "dirty socks, cardboard, or Robitussin," companies have to call in the experts. Enter the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Dairy Research (UWCDR), where scientists do research to unlock the secrets of cream cheese and help manufacturers solve any problems that come up.

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Are round salt granules a big deal? They are for two Indian scientists working on developing the spherical crystals. In a recent Food Navigator interview, Parthasarathi Dastidar and Pushpito K. Ghosh said that round salt granules are less apt to cake in extreme heat and would, in general, be easier to pour. The two created the dodecahedron-shaped granules of salt with the help of a glycine, a sweet amino acid. Since round salt wouldn't need any anti-caking agents, it would be totally clear, the scientists told Food Navigator. Crucial to the survival of mankind? Probably not. Neat and interesting? Sure.

Scientists around the world are working to develop a reliable process that will grow meat in a lab from a few cells. So far, they have successfully grown meat tissue that, while it smells like meat, neither looks nor tastes very much like the real thing. The process has only been done on a small scale and the results resemble jelly. Flesh colored jelly. To get an idea of what this product currently looks like, take a look at PBS's virtual taste test, which compares the properties of lab meat to animal meat.

Scientists hope to see this jelly develop into something that looks and tastes like the cuts of meat that can be achieved from butchering a cow - without having to kill the cow and with the added benefit of being able to grow the meat at home in an incubator. Achieving this goal would nearly eliminate the need for animals in meat production and reduce the total energy and expense required to feed, raise, slaughter and transport those animals.

Meat from a non-sentient source presents an interesting problem for vegetarians, as many become vegetarians for ethical reasons alone, objecting to the practice of raising animals for slaughter. Because the initial culture cells can be taken without harming the donor animal, no animals would be harmed in this type of meat production. In-home meat growth might also limit access to truly natural meat, which may raise concerns of those who are against artificial and otherwise modified food products.

There is a short video segment available on the PBS website about cultured meat and a poll which reveals that 45% of respondents would eat the artificially grown meat. I can't honestly count myself among them.

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