This week we're continuing our exploration of food and nutrition by talking with Neal Fortin, professor and director of the Institute for Food Laws & Regulations at Michigan State University. We wanted to know about food supplements- what they are, why we add them, and what are the regulations that govern them. Memorable Quotes Coming soon! … Continue reading Food and Nutrition: Supplements
food
Food and Nutrition: Diets
We're back! After taking some time to regroup with all of the changes in our world, we're diving back in to investigate the food we eat. With stay-at-home orders in place and recommendations for social distancing and small groups, many of us have been spending more time in our kitchen. While it is an opportunity … Continue reading Food and Nutrition: Diets
Global Diseases: African Swine Fever
While COVID-19 might be making current headlines, not too long ago, another disease was making the news. African Swine Fever recently broke out (again) in 2019 and was devastating pig populations, especially in China. We talked with Dr. Rachel Rheams from Michigan State's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. We learned about sad purple-earred pigs, and (more importantly) … Continue reading Global Diseases: African Swine Fever
Faking It: Additives
This week we finish our Faking It series. To conclude, we talked with Robert Freeborn, a graduate student at Michigan State University in the Rockwell Lab. He's looked at how the presence of a food additive effects the efficacy of flu vaccines. While we were talking about his research, we also asked a few other … Continue reading Faking It: Additives
Faking It: Food Flavors
We're returning to a series that we began a few weeks ago: Faking It. We're looking at how artificial colors, flavors, and additives affect our foods. This week we're talking to Dr. Gary Reineccius about the artificial flavors that get added to our food. How do we discover artificial flavors? Why do we add them? … Continue reading Faking It: Food Flavors
Protecting the Public Health: Microbiology Lab
We're continuing our series on those who are on the front line of depending our public health. This week we talk to Jason Wholehan who works in the microbiology department of the Michigan Public Health Lab. Rachel loves talked about the microbiome and was particularly excited for this week! Jason told us about how their … Continue reading Protecting the Public Health: Microbiology Lab
Faking It: Artificial Sweetners
This week we start a series looking at what products in our food that are usually labeled "artificial", "additive", or "synthetic". We're starting off looking at something that you can find in almost every restaurant, coffee shop, and in most of your cupboards- artificial sweeteners. We talked to Dr. Richard Mattes, a scientist in the … Continue reading Faking It: Artificial Sweetners
Humans and Bacteria: The problems and promises of probiotics
Today we talk to Dr. Robert Britton, a scientist who works at the Baylor College of Medicine. His lab studies how microbes affect health and disease, particularly looking at what microbes might be therapeutic. Since he spends so much time thinking about how these tiny communities affect our health, we had a few questions to … Continue reading Humans and Bacteria: The problems and promises of probiotics
Humans and Bacteria: Coexistence is complicated
Everyday we live with a community of bacteria that outnumber the cells in our bodies! On shelfs in the store you can find yogurt labelled with "live culture" and bottles of pro- and prebiotics, but what does this all mean? We're diving in the microscopic world of our microbiome (biome means a community of living … Continue reading Humans and Bacteria: Coexistence is complicated
GMO’s: What’s on the menu?
This is the final episode of our first series. Today we're bringing the story full circle by looking at what happens when we have a genetically engineered plant on our plate. We walk through how our bodies digest and interact with things we eat, like proteins and DNA. We also discuss major concerns, like allergies … Continue reading GMO’s: What’s on the menu?
Speaking Science 