Fracture Risk Rises Unexpectedly With HRT
A mathematician and HRT researcher at the University of Nottingham, Vinogradova was inspired to mine primary care data for answers after a friend told her she planned to take HRT. Her friend had no hot flashes or other symptoms but was compelled by the evidence that bones are stronger in postmenopausal women who are on HRT.
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Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
How to make perfect chocolate, according to science
It may sound harsh, but it's true: there's chocolate, and then there's chocolate. Anyone who has compared garden variety grocery store options to higher-grade varieties understands the difference. But what exactly separates an everyday candy bar from the upper echelons? To find an answer, a research team at the University of Nottingham's School of Biosciences dove deep into the chemical complexities of one of the world's most popular treats. Their results, published on August 18 in the journal Nature Microbiology, indicate that it mostly comes down to the fermentation process—a notoriously unpredictable stage in harvesting. But after working with cacao bean farmers, the team now believes they have identified the unique combination of elements that control quality. By tailoring cocoa starter cultures similar to brewing beer, they say we're now on the verge of a new era in high-grade chocolate. From cacao to cocoa Pre-Hispanic South American communities first domesticated cacao trees (Theobroma cacao) at least 5,300 years ago before introducing the tropical evergreen species into Mesoamerican societies. Cacao was originally utilized in spiritual ceremonies, while multiple cultures used the beans themselves for currency. Harvesting cacao begins with splitting open the cacao tree's seed pods and separating the rind from the pulp and seeds. The latter two components are then piled together and left to ferment as the pulp liquifies. During this phase, the pale yellow seeds turn into a dark brown or even violet hue and are later extracted for additional drying and fermentation over another 3 to7 days. It's after this fermentation process that manufacturers generally start referring to the beans as cocoa instead of cacao. From there, they are ground down and shipped around the began their investigation for this study right at the source itself—the cacao beans (Theobroma cacao). The team examined cacao bean temperature, pH levels, and microbial communities throughout the fermentation process to identify the key shifts and details that contribute to the final product. They found that fermentation itself remains one of the most pivotal pieces of the puzzle. It sets the standard for flavor complexity, aroma maturation, as well as the reduction in initial bean bitterness. 'Fermentation is a natural, microbe-driven process that typically takes place directly on cocoa farms, where harvested beans are piled in boxes, heaps, or baskets,' study first author and microbial ecologist David Gopaulchan said in a statement. 'In these settings, naturally occurring bacteria and fungi from the surrounding environment break down the beans, producing key chemical compounds that underpin chocolate's final taste and aroma.' But Golpaulchan's team was particularly struck by the unpredictability of this unregulated fermentation, which he described as 'spontaneous' and 'largely uncontrolled.''Farmers have little influence over which microbes dominate or how the fermentation process unfolds,' he explained. 'As a result, fermentation, and thus the flavour and quality of the beans, varies widely between harvests, farms, regions, and countries.' 'Effectively domesticating' chocolate The team then collaborated with Colombian chocolate farmers to replicate their cacao fermentation conditions in a lab by developing a defined microbial mix of bacteria and fungi. After some fine-tuning, their synthetically created, microscopic community provided the proper conditions to produce similarly high-quality chocolate. Basically, they managed to design a 'recipe' for reining in those wildly fluctuating cacao fermentation issues. 'The discoveries we have made are really important for helping chocolate producers to be able to consistently maximize their cocoa crops as we have shown they can rely on measurable markers such as specific pH, temperature, and microbial dynamics, to reliably predict and achieve consistent flavour outcomes,' said Gopaulchan. Gopaulchan described the recent work as 'effectively domesticating' cacao fermentation itself, opening up a new era that offers farmers defined starter cultures to standardize their work. He likened it to the development of starter cultures for beer, bread, and cheese production, and how their introduction revolutionized their industries. As flavorful as this new era may soon become, it doesn't fix some of the industry's larger socio-political issues. Chocolate manufacturing has long been criticized for its heavy environmental toll, as well as its widespread reliance on child labor. Even if quality begins to improve across the board and it can be made more ethically, the treat's sweetness may remain tempered by its bitter associations. Solve the daily Crossword
Scientific American
a day ago
- Scientific American
These Lab-Controlled Microbes Can Make Any Chocolate Taste Gourmet
The unique flavor profiles of premium chocolate —which can include hints of citrus, wafts of wine and subtle notes of spice—have often been attributed to the cocoa bean's origin. Farmers in tropical equatorial regions of the 'cacao belt' have harnessed centuries-old harvesting techniques to coax cocoa beans that deliver the best taste—with the surprising help of tiny natural fermenters: microbes. Now researchers have found that the fermentation fundamental to chocolate production can be reproduced with lab-controlled microbial communities to successfully re-create complex flavors of the beloved morsels. 'We have been able to change the flavors to kind of resemble different regions just by changing the microbes,' says David Gopaulchan, an international research fellow at the University of Nottingham in England and lead author of the new study describing the results in Nature Microbiology. 'It's like hacking an ancient process because we've been fermenting cocoa beans since we've had chocolate. That's hundreds of years ago.' On supporting science journalism If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. What Goes into Chocolate's Taste? Farmers grow cacao trees and harvest the pods, which are opened to collect the seeds and white, creamy pulp. This is left out to 'cure' for several days in wooden boxes, baskets, Styrofoam coolers or large piles atop leaves on the ground—creating the perfect environment for microorganisms to ferment the beans. 'If you skip that that process, your beans don't taste much like anything; it tastes more like plants. So the fermentation is super important in the development of flavor precursors,' Gopaulchan says. Other fermented foods such as wine, cheese and beer are often intentionally inoculated by the manufacturer, usually with the same strains of microorganisms. For chocolate fermentation, 'it's totally spontaneous and uncontrolled. It's whatever microbes that exist at the farm,' he says. This contributes to the enormous variety in fine chocolate flavors—and millions of farmers across the cacao belt each ferment beans with varying microbial communities, he says. The majority of cocoa beans produced globally go into bulk chocolate—that usually has a basic, bittersweet chocolate taste. But a smaller percentage go into fine flavor chocolate, which has a baseline chocolate flavor laced with a complex range of other notes. For example, 'my home country, Trinidad, is known for chocolates that taste like wine, but other regions like Venezuela are known for having very nutty flavor profiles in their beans,' Gopaulchan says. Several other factors throughout the growing, harvesting and manufacturing process may influence the taste—including the soil, climate and bean genetics. 'Plant genetics definitely play a huge role, but you can make bad chocolate out of good genetics with a bad fermentation,' says Caitlin Clark, senior food scientist at Colorado State University's Spur Food Innovation Center, who was not involved in the new research. Gopaulchan had previously investigated the role of diversity in cacao genes at the International Cocoa Genebank at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine's Cocoa Research Center. Along with farming locations, 'it's been the long-held belief that the flavor of chocolate largely depends on the genetics of the plant,' he says. 'But what we show is that these microbes and this fermentation process have a huge impact. I would even argue it's probably the largest impact on the final flavor profile.' Controlling Fermentation, Controlling Flavor In the new study, Gopaulchan and his colleagues collaborated with three cocoa farms in distinct environments in Colombia: the mountainous area of Santander, the dry valley of Huila and the Pacific zone of Antioquia. Using beans naturally fermented on-site, the team used DNA sequencing and metabolic modeling to identify the network of interactions between various bacteria and yeasts that drove fermentation. Of the many microbes that were genetically identified, the team identified a core group that could reproduce the metabolic signatures—such as sensory volatile organic compounds—of fine chocolate flavor. The researchers isolated and tested these strains on unfermented beans in sterile wooden boxes under controlled conditions. Their analysis revealed that, chemically, the lab-fermented beans matched the flavor profiles of premium cocoa. But how did the beans taste? The researchers had a trained sensory panel at the Cocoa Research Center taste cocoa 'liquors'—semisolid pastes of ground roasted beans—from the three farms and the lab without knowing which was which. They scored the lab liquors—along with those from the Santander and Huila farms—as having attributes similar to the fine flavors of reference beans from Madagascar, while the Antioquia liquor was more similar to bulk cocoa. 'We found a lot of fruity, a bit spicy, floral-type flavors coming up with this community of microbes,' Gopaulchan says. The findings support what farmers and the chocolate-making industry have seen in practice, Clark says. 'Cacao fermentation is notoriously hard to study because it is so variable and you can't really replicate it in a lab, so I thought they did a good job of knowing which factors to isolate and highlight,' she says. Gopaulchan hopes that the proof-of-concept design could eventually lead to microbial 'starters' to give farmers more control over the fermentation process and resulting flavors. Farmers, particularly small-scale ones, might be able to preserve the quality of their cocoa beans, Gopaulchan says, especially when fermentations fail from an unexpected rainy season or undesirable microbes. Clark, however, sees such a platform mostly giving a leg up to large mainstream chocolate providers that try to closely control for consistency, batch after batch. 'Variation in chocolate flavor is a real negative if you're trying to make every Hershey's chocolate bar across the world taste exactly the same every time,' Clark says. 'Research like this benefits people trying to make chocolate taste the same a lot more than it benefits people trying to make chocolate taste interesting and different.' Some companies have expressed interest in using this type of technology to create chocolate flavor without any cocoa beans at all, Gopaulchan says. But that could be 'disruptive for the industry,' he adds. Ultimately, he hopes that the research could aid fine flavor chocolate makers, too—maybe even by helping them design entirely new flavors. 'We've identified microbes that make the cocoa beans taste more like cheese or wine. Others, you can get a strong meat flavor,' Gopaulchan says. 'It's wild that you could get a range of totally different flavors by just changing the microbe combinations. Now, we don't want to eat cheesy chocolates, but I think, for other types of foods, there are possibilities.'
Yahoo
11-08-2025
- Yahoo
Scientists develop incredible method to pull out tiny amounts of precious metals: 'Not a single atom goes to waste'
Scientists develop incredible method to pull out tiny amounts of precious metals: 'Not a single atom goes to waste' Researchers have found an innovative technique to maximize the use of precious metals that are vital to the green energy transition. Scientists from the University of Nottingham explained that they used argon plasma — a type of ionized gas that is created when argon gas is exposed to high temperatures or electrical energy — to disperse the atoms in various metals to make the most of the materials. That way, it reduces the pollution generated from mining and metal sourcing, cutting production costs and benefiting the planet at the same time. In the study, published in Advanced Science, researchers from the University of Birmingham, the University of Nottingham, Diamond Light Source, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council's SuperSTEM facility revealed that using argon ions to create "defects" in metal atoms allows them to formulate super-thin 2D structures, which are more efficient than their 3D counterparts. They were able to do this by taking advantage of atomic "vacancies," which trap and anchor the metal atoms and prompt them to form single-layer clusters. The method has huge potential, as the team demonstrated its success across 21 different elements, including silver and gold. "Every atom counts. Precious and rare metals are vital for clean energy and industrial catalysis, but their supply is limited. We've developed a scalable strategy to ensure not a single atom goes to waste," Emerson Kohlrausch, lead researcher from the University of Nottingham's School of Chemistry, said of the breakthrough. Professor Andrei Khlobystov, another study author, added: "This is a one-size-fits-all solution. We can create mono-, bi-, or even tri-metallic atomic layers, with each atom precisely where we want it. That level of control is unprecedented." Sadegh Ghaderzadeh, who led the theoretical modeling, noted that the beauty of the technique is in its simplicity. By simply moving atoms around, it changes the structure of the metals and makes them more conducive to sustainable applications. Ghaderzadeh added that they will be able to recreate the materials in computer models moving forward, which will significantly increase the ability to scale up production. As for how the technique can be used in the real world, scientists have several uses in mind, including improved hydrogen production, energy storage, ammonia synthesis, and carbon dioxide conversion. So far, the team has demonstrated "stability in air for over 16 months," meaning the materials remained unchanged post-production. Looking ahead, the research offers a promising path to a more efficient, greener future wherein technology and healthy humans can coexist. It will also be exciting to witness the next chapter of industrial revolution, as scientific discoveries can allow us to finally move past our need for fossil fuels. Should the U.S. be investing more in battery production to catch up with China? Absolutely We're investing a good amount We should be investing less I have no idea Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the the daily Crossword
