 |
 |
|||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||
 |
   
|
|||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
| So you're into sci fi? But what about sci fact? Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction... Each month our very own Voyager Science Queen* will bring you interesting, quirky and downright bizarre tasty morsels from the world of science. And its all completely, totally, 100% true! June Sci-Facts |
| The Baddies on your Bread This is my community service for the Purple Zone. There was some discussion in the forum about the relative properties of butter versus margarine. Well, I afraid I have bad news for both camps, as neither of them are terribly good for you. I know, I know – it was a shock to me as well. Butter: Butter is a dairy product, most commonly made from cow’s milk, as the cream in bovine milk rises to the top. Goat’s milk does not produce the same thick layer of cream, even when there is the same amount of cream contained within the raw milk product. The cream is separated off, and churned to produce butter and butter milk. This is a greatly simplified overview of the process, but that is the basics. Butter contains many elements vital to maintaining human health, such as protein, calcium, phosphorous and fat-soluble vitamins A, D and E. However, butter is also rich in saturated fats and cholesterol, which contribute to an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Margarine: Margarine is an artificially manufactured butter substitute. Margarine was developed by a French pharmacist and chemist, Hippolyte Mège-Mouriés, in 1869, so it isn’t as modern an innovation as you might think. It is created by the process of hydrogenation for hardening normally liquid vegetable and animal oils. It is then flavoured, coloured, and possibly fortified with vitamins A & D. Contrary to popular belief, margarine contains about the same calories per serve as butter, about 100 calories or 360 to 400 kilojoules per tablespoon. It doesn’t have the cholesterol of butter, instead it may contain trans fatty acids – which increases your risk of heart disease. Fortunately, as manufacturers are aware of the problem, they are cutting down on the amounts of trans fats in their products. As a good rule of thumb, the harder the margarine, the higher the percentage of trans fatty acids it is likely to contain. Olive Oil: Hah! Now I’ll bet you weren’t expecting a third alternative. Olive oil is obtained by pressing the fruit of the olive tree. In Australia, most oil extraction is by centrifuge, and is therefore ‘cold pressed’. Virgin olive oil is the best quality oil from the first pressing, with the most flavour and nutritional benefits. ‘Lite’ olive oil is simply lighter in colour and taste, and contains the same amount of kilojoules, 485kj (115 calories) per tablespoon (and don’t I loathe the spelling of the term). Olive oil is just bursting with vitamins and antioxidants, and is mainly formed from polyunsaturated fats, considered the ‘good’ fats. Polyunsaturated fats can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, and help reduce your cholesterol. I know that most of us are used to ‘buttering’ our bread, but a trickle of olive oil will do the same job. Conclusion: Now, with all that out of the way…none of these food items will hurt you if eaten in small amounts. The main problem with fats, of any sort, is consuming too much of them. Less than ten percent of your daily calorific intake should come from fat; most people in Australia would exceed that amount easily. And if you MUST know, I cook with olive oil, and often use avocado on my bread as a butter substitute. ? But I still have an olive oil-based margarine in my refrigerator, and I often buy butter as well. Variety and moderation are the key aspects of a balanced diet. Biography of the Month I don’t think there would be much point in doing a full biography of Ben Franklin, humanitarian, philosopher, writer, publisher, statesman and scientist – most of you know who he is. Instead, I will just concentrate on the period in his life when he was dedicating his time mainly to scientific exploration and innovation, which is often overlooked when compared to his other achievements. Franklin was a great believer is the progress of science as a way of benefiting humanity and society as a whole. Franklin’s main interest was in electricity. His first experiments had the side effect of him coming up with his invention of the lightening rod. He used the rods to prove that electricity was created in storm cloud. The metal key on the kite string was his next (and so dangerous!) attempt to understand electricity; fortunately, he didn’t actually wait for the lightening to hit the key, and was satisfied by seeing the hairs on the string stand straight, and had a spark jump from the key to his finger. He invented lightening bells that would tell him when such weather phenomena was around, and connected them to a lightening rod. Again, luck smiled upon him, and he disconnected the bells before lightening actually struck his house and possibly electrocuted him or set his home alight. Franklin coined many electrical terms, such as battery, conductor, condenser, charge, discharge, uncharged, negative, minus, plus, electric shock and electrician. Ironically or coincidently, he DID set up the first fire insurance company in the same year he was experimenting, in 1752, with the lightening bells. Even though he had no formal scientific education, Franklin studied in areas than electricity. He was very interested in the idea of flight, predicting that one day balloons would be used for military spy flights and dropping bombs during battle, but he was three years dead before the first American hot air balloon voyage. He invented the catheter, bifocals, the Franklin stove, and a simple odometer, all items that were of personal importance to him. The flexible catheter was invented to help his ill brother, to replace the hard and uncomfortable catheters that were using in medicine before that. The bifocals were his solution to his irritation at constantly having to change his glasses over. His Franklin stove was to replace the dirty and dangerous open fireplace (he established the first volunteer fire-fighting union in Philadelphia). The odometer was used to help with his carriage schedules when he was Postmaster. He was very interested in medicine and health. Franklin's observations on “dry gripes” and its relation to lead exposure were among the earliest to propose lead poisoning. He was a big believer in exercise, particularly swimming – he invented a type of swim fin – and was a vegetarian. This isn’t a comprehensive list of Benjamin Franklin’s scientific achievements. It serves only as a glimpse into the genius of this great man. Concept of the Month It is the hydrogenation process that forms trans fatty acids. Trans is one form of isomeric bond within the fatty acid molecules that make up the margarine, and the flip-side bond is a cis bond. When the hydrogenation of unsaturated fatty acids occurs, some of the unsaturated bonds become saturated, however, other unsaturated bonds might be reorganised so that the hydrogen atoms are on the opposite side of the carbon atoms – forming trans fatty acids. Trans fats are "stiffer" than cis fats because the fatty acids are straighter. And lastly – Lynne’s Literary Comment “To be a writer is, in a sense, to be a day-dreamer - to be living a kind of double life.” Jorge Luis Borges Well, I have to agree with this. In fact, I don’t think he has taken the reality far enough. I know I feel like I’m living three or four lives at the moment. |
| *The Voyager Science Queen is also known as Lynne Green So, who is this woman who attempts to entertain us with Science? Well, I really am a scientist. I have a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Queensland, in Zoology. And, at the moment, I am working in a Pathology laboratory. I have always been intensely curious about every aspect of our universe, from the teeny tiny workings of the gene right up to the mind-bending forces that are twisting and knotting inside a blackhole. So, now I am sharing a brain stuffed full of trivia...and hopefully entertaining people at the same time. As well, I write Fantasy stories and novels. One day, I hope to have a book published, but don't hold your breath. Reading is my other major love, and my favourite authors are Terry Pratchett and Isaac Asimov, though I could list hundreds of others. If I had one wish, I ask for more time to write! Read previous Sci-Facts: Scientific Updates on Previous Articles
Looking for more scientific oddities? Have you checked out Dr Steven Juan's website? He is, quite literally, the wizard of odds! |
Home | Books | Authors | Community | News | Contact us | FAQ | Sitemap Terms of use | Privacy Policy | Copyright © 2003 HarperCollinsPublishers Australia. All rights reserved. |