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The nastiest cheese on earth
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Casu marzu is a traditional Sardinian sheep milk cheese, notable for containing live insect larvae. It is found almost exclusively in Sardinia, Italy. Casu marzu is created by leaving whole Pecorino cheeses outside with part of the rind removed to allow the eggs of the cheese fly Piophila casei to be laid in the cheese. A female P. casei can lay more than five hundred eggs at one time. The eggs hatch and the larvae begin to eat through the cheese. The acid from the maggots' digestive system breaks down the cheese's fats, making the texture of the cheese very soft; by the time it is ready for consumption, a typical casu marzu will contain thousands of these maggots. ...
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4070 |
savio |
10 years ago |
Corn is a man-made invention
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Did you know that delicious yellow corn we've all come to love is a human invention. It is a plant that does not exist naturally in the wild, and can only survive if planted and protected by humans. Scientists believe people living in central Mexico developed corn at least 7000 years ago. It was started from a wild grass called teosinte. ...
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3959 |
bio_man |
8 years ago |
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3816 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Spitting fish
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Why do these fish look like they’re spouting puffs of magic dust out of their mouths? The tiny crustaceans (1 millimetre-long crustacean called an ostracod) that these transparent fish try to eat light them up, causing the fish to be at risk of predation themselves, so they spit them out! ...
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3751 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Glow-in-the-dark ice cream
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And it's $235 a scoop! The ice cream was created by UK company Lick Me I'm Delicious in time for Halloween, and was inspired by glowing jellyfish. It's made using a synthetic, calcium-activated version of the protein that makes jellyfish luminescent, and lights up when you lick it. However, inventor Charlie Harry Francis didn't offer much reassurance on whether the product was safe to eat, writing on his blog: "Well I tried some and I don't seem to be glowing anywhere, so we'll go with a yes for now." ...
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3658 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Half granny, half delicious
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A one in a million apple has been found on a property in Kingston in southern Tasmania. Half granny smith, half red delicious, it's thought that this mutation is the result of all the mutations that led to the Australian royal red gala, and this particular apple is trying to revert to a couple of its previous versions.
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3504 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
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3235 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
How to make meat in a lab
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The biomass pyramid above shows how a large amount of plant matter is eaten by many small animals which are in turn eaten by fewer numbers of large animals. At each step of the biomass pyramid, matter and energy are lost in the form of energy to keep the animal warm and moving, or as faeces and urine. Therefore, the more steps there are in a biomass pyramid, the more loss of matter and energy that occurs. Humans are usually at the top of the Food Chain or biomass pyramid (unless we are eaten by sharks, lions or bears!). Also, there is often a significant loss of matter and energy at each step that can be avoided. Does that mean that we should all become vegetarians? No. However, we can eat more vegetables and less meat. Food security is an im ...
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3221 |
bio_man |
11 years ago |
Blood orange!
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The blood orange is a variety of orange (Citrus × sinensis) with crimson, almost-blood-colored flesh. The fruit is smaller than an average orange; its skin is usually pitted, but can be smooth. The distinctive dark flesh color is due to the presence of anthocyanins, a family of antioxidant pigments common to many flowers and fruit, but uncommon in citrus fruits. The flesh develops its characteristic maroon color when the fruit develops with low temperatures during the night.
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3041 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
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2939 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Birds evolving from fish, a possibility?
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A flying fish moves its tail up to 70 times per second to propel itself up and out of the water. Those specialised pectoral fins are spread wide and tilted slightly upward to provide lift, and then folded back against the body to lower the fish back into the ocean. Flying fish (family: Exocoetidae) are eaten by dolphins, tuna, birds, squids and porpoises, so they needed to develop an ingenious mode of escape - such as flying - in order to survive.
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2879 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
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2875 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Why does airplane food taste strange?
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If you've been fortunate enough to fly on an airplane, you've probably noticed that the food tastes a bit strange. It turns out that it's not actually because of the food itself (even if you are sitting in economy) but the reduced atmospheric pressure on board and the dry nose and mouth we get from flying, says an expert.
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2749 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
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2735 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
A fish that resembles a bird
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This bright blue fish, named the blue parrotfish, can be found in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, and spends 80% of its time searching for food.
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2407 |
duddy |
10 years ago |