Gluten-Free Foods
Gluten-free diets are all the rage, but only a small portion of the population is truly sensitive to the wheat protein.
Gut Bacteria Transfer
Gut microbes may be crucial to maintaining a healthy weight. The latest evidence comes from a study that transplanted human gut bacteria into mice.
Baby Tooth Cavities
Baby teeth fall out eventually. But that doesn't mean cavities in baby teeth should be ignored.
Cooking Sprays
How can companies claim that cooking sprays are “fat-free” if the first ingredient is oil?
Podcast for 30 August 2013
PRE-HISTORIC SCIENCE - Is there a connection between hot weather and violence? And, were our ancestors really as warlike as we make them out to be? Also, did ancient Egyptians jewelry have extraterrestrial origins? And, were spices part of ancient European cuisine?
Prehistoric Spice Roundup
Did prehistoric humans spice up their meals with mustard?
Gluten-Free Foods
Gluten-free diets are all the rage, but only a small portion of the population is truly sensitive to the wheat protein.
Podcast for 23 August 2013
IN THE KITCHEN - Why grapefruit and some medications don't mix. Is going gluten-free a good idea? How overeating affects the brain. And, is food coloring safe?
Grapefruit & Medications
Grapefruit can interact in potentially dangerous ways with a variety of prescription medications.
Food Reward Circuit
A molecule in the gut controls the brain's response to food, and its absence could lead to overeating and obesity.
Podcast for 2 August 2013
NATURE & HEALTH - Scientists look to the oceans for new antibiotics. The full moon affects sleep patterns. And, how paleo is the so-called "Paleo" diet? Also: How apes remember events.
How Paleo is “Paleo”?
Did our hunter-gatherer ancestors really eat a “Paleo” diet?
Pollution & Drought
Pollution in the Northern Hemisphere was largely responsible for deadly droughts in late 20th century Africa.
Vegetable Rhythms
Keeping produce on a normal day/night schedule could improve its nutritional value.
Podcast for 14 June 2013
WHEN SCIENCE MEETS HISTORY - Ocean temperature records from a 19th century research ship confirm global warming. Reviving plants hidden under glaciers for centuries. Tracing the genetic origins of the blight that started the Irish Potato Famine. And uncovering evidence of lead pollution in Spain from 4,000 years ago.
Podcast for 31 May 2013
EAT OR BE EATEN - Cannibal baby sharks, ladybugs that eat other ladybugs, and monkeys that adopt the local cuisine. Also: how baby seals learn to hunt. And, why global warming could turn snowshoe hares into easy prey.
Monkey Food Culture
Vervet monkeys usually adopt the food preferences of whatever social group they join.
Starch from Cellulose
Cellulose, an indigestible material found in all plants, can be converted into healthy, edible starch.
Energy Drinks & Heart Disease
Energy drinks and red meat contain carnitine, a substance that promotes heart disease with the help of gut bacteria.
Podcast for 12 April 2013
ATHLETES & ROBOTS - Elite athletes are far from dumb jocks. A common ingredient in energy drinks could promote heart disease. Also: Robots that learn by watching us, and robots that can walk on sand.
Mummy Heart Disease
Mummies from a variety of different cultures show signs of heart disease.
Microbe Roundup
Fighting disease involves maintaining the healthy populations of microbes that live inside us.
Podcast for 8 March 2013
INSECTS & ALCOHOL - Insects that arm their offspring with alcohol. Drinking may have a 10 million year history. And the importance of wild insects to the worldwide food supply. Also: prosthetic ears from a 3-D printer and seals that sleep with one eye open.