/oss/taxonomy/term/586/all en /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-did-you-know/why-poop-brown <p>A certain amount of the muddy colour can be attributed to the different colours of food we eat. Like mixing all the paint colours together, the result is a dull brown. But, much bigger factors for humans' brown poop are bilirubin and bile. Bilirubin is a yellow substance found in the liver, the product of the breakdown of old red blood cells. Bile is dark brown or green and is produced by the liver to help digest fats. Both of these substances are secreted into the small intestine during digestion, and slowly make their way into poop, bringing with them a dark brown hue.</p> Tue, 23 Aug 2022 19:00:00 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 9207 at /oss /oss/article/history-general-science/brown-isnt-always-dull <p>When an apple is cut in half, the exposed surface quickly turns brown. Do the same thing to an orange, and nothing happens. The noted Hungarian biochemist Albert Szent-Gyorgyi was intrigued by this observation because the brown colour seemed to him to be very similar to the skin pigmentation often noted in patients suffering from Addison's disease. He was studying the disease which had been described by Thomas Addison in 1855 and knew that it was characterized by an underactive adrenal gland.</p> Wed, 07 Jul 2021 18:50:43 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8779 at /oss /oss/article/nutrition-you-asked/why-does-lettuce-turn-brown <p>That’s an interesting question. How lettuce turns brown is well known. But why this happens is a different story. Let's deal with the how first. The chemistry that takes place when lettuce leaves become brown is the same chemistry we see when an apple is cut and turns brown, when green guacamole turns brown or when a green olive ripens and turns black. All these reactions occur when chemicals in the fruit or vegetable called polyphenols react with enzymes called polyphenoloxidases. Enzymes are specialized protein molecules made within cells and serve as catalysts.</p> Fri, 04 Jun 2021 20:24:53 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8755 at /oss /oss/article/food/twitching-worms-non-browning-apples <p>The tiny worm’s twitch was hardly noticeable, but with that slight shudder science took a giant leap!  A leap big enough to lead to a Nobel Prize that would pave the way to apples that will not brown, onions that will not make you cry, cotton seeds that you can eat and diseases that you can treat. The 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine was awarded to Professors Andrew Fire of Stanford University and Craig Mello of the University of Massachusetts for their discovery of “RNA interference” and its role in “gene silencing.” </p> Fri, 06 Jul 2012 19:14:10 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1714 at /oss