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Why do lobsters change colour on cooking?

20 Mar 2017

Believe it or not, shrimp and lobster have something in common with carrots. They have a good dose of carotenoids in their body. Carotenoids are yellow-orange compounds that are quite widespread in...

Toys and Toxins

20 Mar 2017

Buying toys used to be easy. You went into a toy store, looked around and found something you liked. What mattered was whether the rubber ducky had an appealing look and feel or whether the doll...

What is meant by "digestion"?

20 Mar 2017

The path upon which food travels, beginning with ingestion and ending with excretion, is complex and highly organized. While the body is controlled by the central and autonomic nervous systems, the...

Pucker Up: The Chemistry of Kissing

20 Mar 2017

And just when I was getting used to being single in the summer. July 6th rolls around; International Kissing Day. It’s like a second Valentine’s Day but less sweet. I mean really, no chocolate? But...

Genetic modification: a thorny issue

20 Mar 2017

The ancient Greeks did not have a good grasp of genetics. A giraffe, they thought, was a cross between a camel and a leopard, and an ostrich was the result when a camel mated with a sparrow. A...

Our Future Physicians - Choosing the Brightest and the Best Candidates

20 Mar 2017

They’re bright. They’re multi-talented. They’re imaginative. They’re passionate and compassionate. Who are they? American Idol contestants? No. These impressive young men and women are McGill...

What makes a stink bomb stink?

20 Mar 2017

The classic stench of rotten eggs produced by a stink bomb is produced when the ammonium sulphide in the stink bomb breaks down to hydrogen sulphide and ammonia. Commercially, this ammonium...

What are Urinal Cakes?

20 Mar 2017

They may be a mystery to the ladies, but they’re very familiar to gentlemen. They’re called “urinal cakes” and are commonly seen at the bottom of urinals. Their purpose?

Nitrosamines

20 Mar 2017

I don’t think I would want to work in a rubber processing plant. Too many nitrosamines in the air, and it’s better not to inhale them. Nitrosamines after all are known carcinogens, first identified...

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