Smell, Memory

Scientists believe that the first scents we experience in childhood are so memorable because "the first smell you associate with an object is given privileged status in the brain."

Chemists Identify Formula for the Perfect Gravy

Following in the footsteps of such important scientific breakthroughs as the formulas for the perfect bacon sandwich, perfect pancake, and perfect Yorkshire Pudding, the Royal Society of Chemistry in the UK claims to have come up with "a chemistry-based recipe for the perfect gravy."

Chemist and author John Emsley has fine-tuned a gravy recipe that includes a surprise ingredient: soy sauce. Why? To bring out the umami flavor of the gravy, he says.

Also in the mix: the juices of a roast joint of meat, flour, the water from boiling cabbage, iodized salt, pepper, and something called "gravy browning" (caramelized sugar). There you have it.

Correlations: Drinking and Exercise

New research suggests that regular consumers of alcohol are 10 percent more likely to engage in vigorous physical activity than teetotalers.

But, Is It Really Decaf?

If you insist on drinking decaffeinated coffee, but you find yourself deeply suspicious of what you are really being served, you may be in the market for D-Caf Test Strips. Drop a strip into a sample of your drink to find out for certain whether you've been served decaf or been duped.

$9.95 for a pack of 20 strips at The Spoon Sisters.

Who Drank Milk First?

According to New Scientist, a new study published in the journal PLoS Computational Biology has traced Europe's earliest adult milk-drinkers to modern day northwest Hungary and southwest Slovakia.

The research team tracked selection for the gene for lactose tolerance to a tribe of cattle herders located between the central Balkans and Central Europe 7,500 years ago. They posit that lactose tolerance likely spread geographically in association with the dissemination of the Linearbandkeramik, a Neolithic farming culture (the illustration above shows the early (dark green) and late phase (light green) spread of the Linearbandkeramk culture across Europe).

The findings trump the more common understanding that sun-deprived Scandinavians were the first among Europeans to drink milk, as a form of dietary compensation for a lack of Vitamin D.

Image: PLoS Computational Biology.

Photos of Cake Have a Slimming Effect

In a scientific study, women shown a picture a chocolate cake were more likely to choose eating healthier foods.

Running on Rutabagas

Forget corn. Researchers at Michigan State University are genetically modifying the rutabaga to maximize its potential as a source of biofuel.

Humans, Neanderthals Separated by Sole Meuniere

Chemical signatures locked into samples of bone suggest that while Neanderthals got most of their protein from large game, the earliest humans enjoyed a more diverse diet incuding fish and other seafood.

The McGriddle Enigma

Unlocking the neuroscience of McDonald's McGriddle sandwich.  Via coldmud.

The Distaste-Disgust Link

Scientists say that the way people react to things that are distasteful is very similar to how they express moral disgust. Did one reaction evolve into the other?