Pulses of certain Turkey Day food ingredients are detected in the water supply in the days after the holiday, according to researchers. But as reported in National Geographic News, it doesn’t stop there:
For instance, thyme and sage spike during Thanksgiving, cinnamon surges all winter, chocolate and vanilla show up during weekends (presumably from party-related goodies), and waffle-cone and caramel-corn remnants skyrocket around the Fourth of July.
A research team from the University of Washington tracked pulses of food ingredients that enter Washington’s Puget sound to learn more about how our actions on land affect the water supply, and to determine what slips through sewage treatment plants. Similar monitoring is underway worldwide, and scientists have turned up things such as flu vaccines, cocaine, heroine, rocket fuel, and birth control in waterways.
Click on over to team leader Rick Keil’s lab Web site to learn more about the Puget Sound research. But Keil told National Geographic News that the no one knows yet whether the subtle seasoning of the water is having an impact.
For now, there’s no evidence that a sweeter and spicier sound is a bad thing—salmon, which can smell such flavors, could be enjoying their vanilla-enhanced habitat, Keil said.
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Image: flickr / Lana_aka_BADGIRL
Tomorrow, most of America will gather in front of a table to ingest massive quantities of carb- and fat-driven foodstuffs. But what about the few Americans currently in space? Not to worry: Lest the seven astronauts aboard the space shuttle Endeavour go without their requisite servings of turkey, stuffing, and candied yams, NASA is providing a Thanksgiving meal.
The six Americans on board and one Russian—who, in the spirit of inclusion, is also joining the meal—will float through their feast (literally), eating their feast from individual pouches with Velcro tags, which they can affix to metal trays that can be attached to their laps or the wall. Each tray is equipped with a tethered spoon, fork, knife, and pair of scissors for cutting open the food pouches.
While the flavor ranges in space are somewhat limited, NASA works hard to engineer a varied menu. Of course, the results aren’t always so successful, according to reports:
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Last week we revealed our Top Ten Science Halloween Costumes and asked you to send in your entries. By far the best was from Linda, who writes:
“Since my 3 year old daughter insisted that she had to be an anglerfish, I had to make her one. All the bioluminescence glows in the dark and the eyes glow as well. The light on her head blinks and bobs just like the real thing!!”
The female anglerfish is a natural trick-or-treater. It uses the bioluminescent esca dangling from its head like a fishing pole to lure other fish to its giant jaws. But just as the other fish think they’re in for a treat, the anglerfish reveals its trick and swallows them whole!
This is without a doubt the most adorable deep sea creature we’ve ever seen. Thanks Linda!
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Discoblog: DISCOVER’s Top Ten Science Halloween Costumes, Part I
Discoblog: DISCOVER’s Top Ten Science Halloween Costumes, Part II
• They love these in Alaska: “A warty, sometimes spotted, reddish, forearm-long fellow with meaty muscles.”
• Don’t feel guilty: There’s a scientifically good reason to gorge yourself on Halloween candy.
• You think being stuck in a cubicle is bad? NASA builds a computer therapist for depressed astronauts.
• Halloween Costumes + Animal Sex = Green Porno (totally safe for work!)
• Just one look from Sir David Attenborough makes carnivorous frogs want to have babies.
• Yet another nutty animal recue mission: Polar bear falls into a dry moat and refuses to use the stairs.
