/oss/taxonomy/term/527/all en /oss/article/general-science/unbearable-poopness-bookstores <p>Imagine you have been walking the aisles of your favourite bookstore for an hour, letting your gaze gaily hop from one spine to the next. You smell the ink and the paper. You hear the dulcet tones of a piano over the PA system.</p> <p>And then it hits you, like a cannonball dropping in your lower abdomen.</p> <p>The acute, undeniable urge to evacuate your bowels.</p> <p>As you make a run for the nearest public washroom, you think to yourself, “Not again!”</p> Sat, 22 Jan 2022 09:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9000 at /oss /oss/article/health-technology-reviews/book-review-bad-blood-secrets-and-lies-silicon-valley-startup <hr /> <p class="note"><strong>Take-home message:</strong><br /> -Elizabeth Holmes’ company Theranos tried to create a machine that could do hundreds of medical tests on a single drop of blood<br /> -John Carreyrou’s book Bad Blood reports on the lies and secrecy that allowed so many people to believe the machine was real</p> Thu, 16 Aug 2018 16:09:38 +0000 Jonathan Jarry, MSc 7309 at /oss /oss/article/videos/right-chemistry-title-speaks-volumes <p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-6owcdrqjnoo" width="640" height="390" title="Dr. Joe Schwarcz: A title speaks volumes" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/6owcDRQjnOo?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-6owcdrqjnoo&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="Dr. Joe Schwarcz: A title speaks volumes" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Video of Dr. Joe Schwarcz: A title speaks volumes</iframe> </div> </p> Mon, 18 Jun 2018 15:12:20 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7141 at /oss /oss/article/book-review-living-chemical-age <p><span>I once</span> <a href="http://www.bodyofevidence.ca/blog/when-skeptic-goes-spa">attended a presentation</a> on the wonders of raw food and sous-vide cooking at a spa resort. What was fascinating was seeing the gradual reaction of my fellow attendees as the presenter piled on fear over risk over danger. Gluten irritates our colon; milk is acidifying; cooked meat is brimming with carcinogens. Oh, and aluminum foil kills our brain.</p> Thu, 31 May 2018 17:20:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 7116 at /oss /oss/channels/event/dr-joe-book-talk-toronto-public-library-city-hall-287151 <p>Dr. Joe will discuss his new book, "A Feast of Science"!</p> <p>Free and open to the public. Signed copies available.</p> Fri, 11 May 2018 18:17:04 +0000 emily.shore@mcgill.ca 7083 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know/why-do-old-books-smell-so-good <p>E-readers might be convenient, but they’ll never have that comforting old book smell. It turns out that the smell of old books is due to the organic materials in books (like cellulose from wood pulp) reacting with light, heat and water, and over time releasing volatile organic compounds or VOCs. What VOCs are released depends on how the book was made and stored, but common scents are toluene or ethylbenzene, which smell sweet, benzaldehyde or furfural, which smell almond-like, or vanillin, which smells like- you guessed it- vanilla.</p> Sun, 14 May 2017 02:29:25 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 2445 at /oss /oss/article/science-science-everywhere/no-more-dirty-looks-gets-dirty-look <p>Siobahn O’Connor and Alexandra Spunt are two very pleasant ladies who came to see me when they were doing research for their recently published book, No More Dirty Looks. I was a little apprehensive about speaking with them, because frankly, I knew they shouldn’t be writing such a book. Not only did they have no knowledge of the science of cosmetics, they had no knowledge of science at all. It seems, though, that these days having expertise in a subject is not a requirement for writing about it.</p> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:20:16 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1630 at /oss