/oss/taxonomy/term/1419/all en /oss/article/history/learning-movies <p>Both groups struggled with the same problem. How to extract and purify a chemical that is part of a complex mixture? For researchers led by Dr. Frederick Banting at the University of Toronto in 1921 that chemical was insulin, while in the late 1930s at Oxford University for Drs. Howard Florey and Ernst Chain the target was penicillin. Both teams eventually solved the problem, but the paths leading to success were anything but smooth, as can be seen by anyone willing to delve into the extensive popular and scientific literature describing the discoveries.</p> Fri, 18 Mar 2022 18:14:03 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9053 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-history/no-silver-lining-colloidal-silver <p>As early as the ancient dynasties of Egypt, silver coins were placed in the drinking vessels of the nobility to protect them from harm.  Of course, this was not the result of any scientific investigation, the practice probably originated from some superstitious belief about the magical properties of precious metals.  Over the years it became apparent that the silver coins really did have an effect, they kept water from becoming slimy.  Storage of water in silver vessels was an obvious extension of this observation, affording the well-to-do some protection from water-borne diseases that were</p> Wed, 13 Oct 2021 16:35:44 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8896 at /oss /oss/article/health-history/kiss-death-almost <p>An Italian lady showed up at a clinic complaining of generalized itching and swelling of her lips about 30 minutes after making love with her husband. The reaction disappeared after treatment with cetirizine (Reactine). Tests showed that she had no food allergies. Doctors finally traced the symptoms to kissing her husband during lovemaking! Actually, the problem wasn't the kissing, one would assume that this activity occurred on numerous occasions without triggering the symptoms. This time though the husband had taken an antibiotic, bacampicillin, about two hours earlier.</p> Wed, 04 Aug 2021 20:11:04 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8797 at /oss /oss/article/health/kiss-and-tell <p>An Italian lady showed up at a clinic complaining of generalized itching and swelling of her lips about 30 minutes after making love with her husband. The reaction resolved after treatment with cetirizine (Reactine), an antihistamine. Tests showed an absence of food allergies but a clue emerged when doctors learned that her husband had been recently diagnosed with gingivitis.</p> Fri, 04 Dec 2020 16:15:49 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8519 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-environment-food-health-news/streptomycin-and-blueberries <p>A story is blazing around the blogosphere about a ten year old girl having an anaphylactic reaction to a blueberry pie. Physicians supposedly traced the reaction to streptomycin used as a pesticide on the blueberries. The account is spreading like wildfire with warnings about how an “antibiotic reside in food may cause severe allergies.” The reference is to a paper in the September issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, a reputable publication. But there is a problem. The September issue is not yet out. So how do we know about the case?</p> Fri, 05 Sep 2014 01:13:32 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2193 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-environment-food-health/chemistry-lesson-food-babeand-everyone-else-24 <p>Since the late 1940s, so-called “subtherapeutic” doses of antibiotics have been routinely added to animal feed to prevent disease and to increase feed efficiency.  Exactly why animals put on weight more readily when exposed to small doses of antibiotics isn’t clear, but it may have to do with reducing the competition for nutrients by cutting down on the natural bacterial population in the animals’ gut.  Some studies also suggest that antibiotic use thins the intestinal wall and increases nutrient absorption.  What has become clear, however, is that such subtherapeutic use of antibiotics lea</p> Tue, 01 Mar 2016 12:20:52 +0000 Joe Schwarcz 2324 at /oss /oss/article/environment-food-health-news/chicken-requires-careful-handling <p>Estimates are that some 55 million people in Canada and the U.S become ill every year from eating tainted food with more deaths attributed poultry than any other food. That of course is partly due to poultry being the most popular meat, with consumption being about 83 pounds per capita per year. Tests by Consumers Union show that virtually all chicken is contaminated by bacteria. That by itself is no great surprise. Chickens’ guts, like those of humans, are filled with all sorts of bacteria and cause no harm to the bird.</p> Mon, 13 Jan 2014 19:28:01 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2067 at /oss