Latest news with #UniversityofHelsinki
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Why fava beans taste gross (and how scientists want to fix them)
Beef production is a significant source of planet-warming greenhouse gasses, and its land use often leads to deforestation. Plant-based food products are thus widely considered to be a more sustainable alternative. But there's one problem: to most people, they don't taste nearly as good as a juicy ribeye steak. In particular, people don't like fava beans (also called faba beans) because of their bitterness and the dry sensation they cause in the mouth, according to a Finnish consumer study reported by the University of legume, however, has incredible potential. It's highly nutritious and provides a great source of amino acids. What's more, dried faba beans have more protein than red meat, and some studies have even suggested that eating them improves the motor skills of patients with Parkinson's disease. 'People avoid faba beans in cooking and in the food industry especially because of their bitterness. In their current form, faba bean products have not sold very well either,' Fabio Tuccillo, a sensory and consumer scientist conducting his doctoral research at the University of Helsinki, explained in a statement. 'They are often also heavily seasoned to cover the bitter taste. Therefore, it is important to identify the compounds that cause unpleasant flavours.' [ Related: A new ingredient could revolutionize white bread. ] The idea is that if scientists discover the compounds behind these flavors, they can modify them through new technologies, processing methods, and even plant-breeding approaches to make fava beans a better-tasting ingredient for plant-based foods. In this spirit, Tuccillo reveals in his doctoral thesis that the bitterness and mouth-drying feeling is associated with compounds called vicine and convicine, in addition to several amino acids including phenylalanine, according to the university. He also identified compounds responsible for the beans' cereal-like smell. Fava beans 'can be used in a diverse range of food products, such as bread, pastry and other products. Once we know how to reduce the unpleasant flavour and sensation, we can produce increasingly pleasant faba bean raw materials,' explained Tuccillo, who is defending his doctoral thesis today. 'Improving the sensory quality of raw materials made from faba beans is necessary, if the aim is to succeed in the food market with products supporting sustainable development and plant-based diets.' Perhaps we'll all be enjoying delicious fava bread sooner than you think.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Funny old world: the week's offbeat news
From how smelly penguins are saving the world to how Dr House got it wrong, your weekly roundup of offbeat stories from around the world. - Fragrant penguins keep us cool - The whiff coming off penguin poo is helping save us from climate catastrophe, say scientists who have made one of the year's most unexpected discoveries. Ammonia wafting from penguin guano is creating cloud cover over coastal Antarctica, blocking sunlight and keeping the continent cool. The odour generated by a colony of 60,000 Adelie penguins on Seymour Island, off the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, is literally strong enough to change the weather, scientists reported. They found that cloud-seeding aerosols surging from the stink were thick enough at times to generate a dense fog. "This is just another example of this deep connection between the ecosystem and atmospheric processes, and why we should care about biodiversity and conservation," Matthew Boyer, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Helsinki, told AFP. - Ships in the night - A Norwegian man woke up to find a cargo ship had run aground only feet from where he was sleeping soundly in his seaside cabin. Johan Helberg was woken by a panicked neighbour who rang his doorbell and frantically phoned to warn him that the ship was heading for his home. The 135-metre (443-foot) NCL Salten rammed into the shore just metres from Helberg's wooden house in a fjord near Trondheim. "The doorbell rang at a time of day when I don't like to open," Helberg said. His neighbour said he was roused at around 5:00 am by the sound of the ship heading at full speed towards Helberg's house. Police said the Ukrainian helmsman had fallen asleep, with the seaman saying the ship's alarms had not gone off. No one was hurt, and the ship was later pulled from the rocks. "It's good to have said hello, but now it's time to say goodbye," Helberg told Norwegian TV. - Treat thyself doctor - He was the pill-popping maverick medic you loved to confound the medical establishment with his unorthodox diagnoses. But TV's Dr House often got it wrong, Croatian researchers have found, with a neurologist working at the wrong end of a patient (doing a colonoscopy) in one episode and an infectologist performing an autopsy in another. - Carlsen takes on the world - Two brains are better than one, but 145,000 are not necessarily superior to a single cerebrum, particularly if the grey matter belongs to the legendary chess master Magnus Carlsen. An army of chess fans was unable to outfox the 34-year-old Norwegian in an online match billed as "Magnus Carlsen vs. The World". Carlsen held them to a draw after a six-week contest, with each side allowed 24 hours to make a move. In fact, Carlsen thought he "was a little bit better" early in the game, but as soon as his opponents got their act together "honestly, they haven't given me a single chance". - No crack in this system - It was almost the purrfect crime but guards nabbed a drug-running cat breaking into a Costa Rican prison just in time. The black-and-white moggie jumped the fence of the jail in Pococi with 230 grams of marijuana and 67 grams of crack cocaine strapped to its body in the middle of the night, the justice ministry said. It may have hoped to catch the guards cat-napping. Instead it was quickly spotted and is now behind bars itself in an animal sanctuary. burs-fg/js
The Age
3 days ago
- Health
- The Age
Why a ‘germier' house is good for you
Graham Rook, emeritus professor of medical microbiology at University College London (UCL), suggests that some microbes in the natural world are like 'old friends' that evolved alongside us and benefit our health by strengthening our immune system's ability to regulate itself and avoid harmful overreactions. However, if you have allergies to spring pollen, allergists recommend keeping your windows closed to avoid exacerbating your symptoms. Keep houseplants Studies suggest that living in urban settings can reduce microbiome diversity in our homes and hinder the development of a varied microbiome in our bodies. 'In urban areas, there is a lot of asphalt or concrete, and we don't have as much connection to the soil or plants, so we don't get as much microbial exposure,' says Juulia Manninen, a doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki who focuses on microbial diversity in urban environments. But interacting with plants increases exposure to beneficial microbes, which are often limited in indoor and urban environments, she says. For example, one study from the Nature-Based Solutions Research Group at the University of Helsinki and the Natural Resources Institute in Finland found that people who worked in offices with vegetated 'green walls' (vertical structures with plants growing on them) had increased levels of anti-inflammatoryproteins in their blood than workers who did not get this intervention. Similarly, another study found that adults living in urban areas who did indoor gardening using microbially diverse soil had increased levels of anti-inflammatory proteins in their blood after one month compared with those who gardened using soil with lower microbial diversity. Loading Indoor gardening – growing, repotting, or even harvesting herbs or vegetables indoors – is one way to increase our interaction with plants, but simply being exposed to a variety of potted plants in the home would still be beneficial, Gilbert says. Clean strategically When cleaning your home, don't overuse harsh chemical disinfectants because they could kill too many beneficial microorganisms, says Erica M. Hartmann, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northwestern University. Instead, when cleaning, ask yourself, 'What problem do I want to solve?' Focus on disinfecting areas where you know there may be harmful micro-organisms, such as the kitchen benchtop, where bacteria such as E coli could spread from handling raw meat, or the bathroom, where potentially harmful moulds could grow, she says. When cleaning with chemical disinfectants, wear a mask and open a window to avoid breathing in chemicals, which could be harmful to your health, Hartmann advises. To remove debris such as dust or dirt from floors and shelves, skip disinfectants and use a damp cloth instead, she says. Consider getting a pet Exposure to animals in or around the home, such as by growing up on a farm or having a pet, is associated with a reduced risk for asthma and allergies, as well as some inflammatory diseases. Dogs, in particular, have been shown to alter and diversify the microbiome inside a home. Rook and Gilbert attribute this to dogs running around outside and getting dirty, then tracking micro-organisms into the house. Also, humans have a long history of living with dogs, which may mean that our immune system responds well to dog - associated microbes. 'Allow your dogs to come into the house, even if they're a little dirty,' Rook suggests. If all else fails – visit nature regularly Not everyone can have a pet or keep houseplants in their home, and if they live in an area with significant air pollution, opening windows could do more harm than good, Gilbert says.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
Why a ‘germier' house is good for you
Graham Rook, emeritus professor of medical microbiology at University College London (UCL), suggests that some microbes in the natural world are like 'old friends' that evolved alongside us and benefit our health by strengthening our immune system's ability to regulate itself and avoid harmful overreactions. However, if you have allergies to spring pollen, allergists recommend keeping your windows closed to avoid exacerbating your symptoms. Keep houseplants Studies suggest that living in urban settings can reduce microbiome diversity in our homes and hinder the development of a varied microbiome in our bodies. 'In urban areas, there is a lot of asphalt or concrete, and we don't have as much connection to the soil or plants, so we don't get as much microbial exposure,' says Juulia Manninen, a doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki who focuses on microbial diversity in urban environments. But interacting with plants increases exposure to beneficial microbes, which are often limited in indoor and urban environments, she says. For example, one study from the Nature-Based Solutions Research Group at the University of Helsinki and the Natural Resources Institute in Finland found that people who worked in offices with vegetated 'green walls' (vertical structures with plants growing on them) had increased levels of anti-inflammatoryproteins in their blood than workers who did not get this intervention. Similarly, another study found that adults living in urban areas who did indoor gardening using microbially diverse soil had increased levels of anti-inflammatory proteins in their blood after one month compared with those who gardened using soil with lower microbial diversity. Loading Indoor gardening – growing, repotting, or even harvesting herbs or vegetables indoors – is one way to increase our interaction with plants, but simply being exposed to a variety of potted plants in the home would still be beneficial, Gilbert says. Clean strategically When cleaning your home, don't overuse harsh chemical disinfectants because they could kill too many beneficial microorganisms, says Erica M. Hartmann, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northwestern University. Instead, when cleaning, ask yourself, 'What problem do I want to solve?' Focus on disinfecting areas where you know there may be harmful micro-organisms, such as the kitchen benchtop, where bacteria such as E coli could spread from handling raw meat, or the bathroom, where potentially harmful moulds could grow, she says. When cleaning with chemical disinfectants, wear a mask and open a window to avoid breathing in chemicals, which could be harmful to your health, Hartmann advises. To remove debris such as dust or dirt from floors and shelves, skip disinfectants and use a damp cloth instead, she says. Consider getting a pet Exposure to animals in or around the home, such as by growing up on a farm or having a pet, is associated with a reduced risk for asthma and allergies, as well as some inflammatory diseases. Dogs, in particular, have been shown to alter and diversify the microbiome inside a home. Rook and Gilbert attribute this to dogs running around outside and getting dirty, then tracking micro-organisms into the house. Also, humans have a long history of living with dogs, which may mean that our immune system responds well to dog - associated microbes. 'Allow your dogs to come into the house, even if they're a little dirty,' Rook suggests. If all else fails – visit nature regularly Not everyone can have a pet or keep houseplants in their home, and if they live in an area with significant air pollution, opening windows could do more harm than good, Gilbert says.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
Penguins may help in counteracting climate change! Researchers reveal how
Imagine living in one of the farthest and remotest corners of the whole world, and becoming kind of instrumental in reviving the same! Penguins are proving to have that sort of superpower! What's happening? Antarctica is warming quickly due to human-caused climate change. However, where there's a problem, there must be a will to solve it as well. A new study suggests that penguin droppings, or guano, could help keep the continent cooler. The study, published in Communications Earth & Environment , shows that ammonia released from penguin guano helps form extra clouds above coastal Antarctica. These clouds block sunlight and may lower temperatures. Can penguin poop save the world? According to the paper, penguins are a key species in Antarctica, are "major emitters" of ammonia. When the ammonia reacts with gases that contain sulfur emitted from phytoplankton in the ocean, it increases the creation of aerosols, which give water vapor a surface to condense upon and lead to cloud formation. As per Matthew Boyer, a researcher at the University of Helsinki's Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research and lead author of the paper, "They have a synergistic role for the formation of particles in the atmosphere." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Click Here - This Might Save You From Losing Money Expertinspector Click Here Undo According to the paper, the clouds can then act as an insulation in the atmosphere, helping to reduce surface temperatures, which in turn prevents the sea ice from melting. Insight into the study: Boyer noted that past lab studies indicated ammonia can aid in cloud formation. However, measuring this in Antarctica had not been done before. Antarctica serves as a unique natural laboratory. With very little human pollution and few plants to produce cloud-forming gases, penguin colonies serve as the main source of ammonia. However, penguins face threats due to shrinking sea ice, which disrupts their nesting, feeding, and routines to avoid predators. Understanding their ecological role is crucial. Along with other seabirds like Imperial Shags, penguins release large amounts of ammonia through their droppings. When this ammonia mixes with sulfur gases from phytoplankton—tiny algae in the ocean—it helps create aerosol particles that form clouds. To study this, Boyer and his team set up instruments at Argentina's Marambio Base on Seymour Island, near the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. During those summer months, when penguin colonies thrive and phytoplankton bloom, they monitored wind, ammonia levels, and aerosols. When wind blew from a nearby colony of 60,000 Adélie penguins, ammonia levels rose to 13.5 parts per billion—about a thousand times higher than normal. Even a month after the penguins had migrated, ammonia concentrations remained about 100 times higher, thanks to the guano-soaked ground. As air moved from the penguin colony, particle counters showed an increase in cloud-forming aerosols, sometimes thick enough to create fog. Chemical analysis pointed to ammonia from the penguins. Boyer describes this as a "synergistic process" where penguins and phytoplankton work together to increase aerosol production in the area. He warns that declining penguin numbers could worsen climate warming in the Antarctic summer, although this idea is still a hypothesis and not proven. Clouds usually cool the Earth by reflecting sunlight, and the team believes a similar process occurs in Antarctica. However, the effect depends on what lies beneath the clouds. Ice and glaciers reflect a lot of sunlight, but clouds can also trap heat, so the overall impact depends on where clouds form. Yet another reminder: The findings highlight how interconnected Antarctic ecosystems are with Earth's climate systems. As ice melts and habitats shift due to global warming , it's not just wildlife like penguins that are at risk, but also the natural processes they support. These findings also show how closely life and the atmosphere are linked, from the ancient rise of oxygen due to microbes to penguins affecting current cloud cover. As per Boyer, "This highlights the deep connection between ecosystems and atmospheric processes, and why we should care about biodiversity and conservation." The Antarctic plays a vital role in stabilising global temperatures, acting as a heat buffer, a carbon sink, and the engine behind ocean currents, according to the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition. Unfortunately, it's also one of the fastest-warming regions on Earth. Linking fossil climate proxies to living bacteria helps climate prediction
