molecular

Molecular gastronomy: Saying it just rolls off the tongue. As it should--a process that turns solid food into little "caviar" spheres should roll off the tongue when you say it. However, as much as molecular gastronomists like to turn their food into squishy balls of goo, they also happen to like gel and foam equally as much. But where and how does one learn how to do all this spherification, gelification, and emulsification?

ThinkGeek's Molecular Cuisine Starter Kit offers a way for cook/scientists of all skill levels a chance to play with their food. The kit … Read more

Nestled amid all the tech products and services at CES this week is the Bravo TV booth, featuring cooking demos by former "Top Chef" contender Richard Blais. But Blais isn't totally out of place here: he applies a bit of science and tech to cook up his culinary delights.

Narrowly losing the Top Chef title in season four of the series, Blaise is well-known to fans of the fast-paced cooking show for his molecular gastronomy approach to food preparation, a process that dives into the chemical reactions that occur as different ingredients are combined.

One of Blaise'… Read more

If you've watched cooking shows over the past couple of years, you've probably seen at least a few of the tricks used by chefs practicing molecular gastronomy: chemicals and special utensils that allow them to create foods that have never before been seen in the kitchen. But most of those supplies aren't available on the shelves at the local grocery store. Until recently, if you've wanted to try out the dishes created by molecular gastronomy, you had to find a restaurant that served them. The Molecular Gastronomy Starter Kit, from ThinkGeek, lets you experiment in your … Read more

I just can't wrap my head around this development--not because it's so big, but because it's so tiny.

Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a "nanoneedle" with a diameter of approximately 50 nanometers--about half the size of previously reported nanoneedles.

To put this in perspective, it turns out that the thinnest human head hair is about 10,000 times thicker than this new needle. Obviously, the majority of us won't find any use for a needle of this size. However, this is a breakthrough device with applications for biophysical research.

The nanoneedle is designed to penetrate the membrane of a living cell for the targeted delivery of one or more molecules into the cytoplasm or the nucleus. In addition, it can be used as an electrochemical probe and as an optical biosensor.… Read more

Ever since inventions like Dippin' Dots made it into the mainstream, food enthusiasts and chefs have been in search of ways to make food more surprising. Chefs such as Richard of Top Chef have blurred the lines between the laboratory and the kitchen, and in the quest for more creative culinary innovations, they've proven to us that anything is possible.

Take chefs Heston Blumenthal and Ferran Adri?, two names often associated with molecular gastronomy. Responsible for creations like foamed beetroot and espresso (made using cartridges of nitrogen oxide), Adri?'s goal is to "provide unexpected contrasts of flavour, … Read more

Long after the shooting has stopped, radioactive dust particles dispersed by exploding, depleted uranium (DU) artillery and tank shells leave the contemporary battlefield a dangerous place--and there's been little hope of decontamination, until now.

Researchers from Scotland's University of Dundee have discovered that common backyard fungi may be the key to cleaning and reclaiming DU-contaminated soil in places like Iraq and Bosnia.

The team found that free-living and plant symbiotic (mycorrhizal) fungi can colonize DU metallic surfaces and geochemically transform them into uranyl phosphate minerals, stabilizing the uranium, reports a study published in the journal Current Biology.

"… Read more