I’ve been reading a lot of interesting news tidbits, and thought I’d share. Today’s edition is mostly about food.

Kraft wants to take over Cadbury.

I also stumbled accross an article saying that high protein, low carb diets may contribute to Alzheimers Disease. It’s intriguing and surprising—but also just one study in mice, so the results should be interpreted with caution.

For a new spin on urban farming, look at Detroit. While I’m not moving to detroit anytime soon, the article is a fascinating read, and some of the arial photos are astounding. [Found via the NYT Idea of the Day Blog.]

You’ve probably heard by now, but in case you hadn’t, the 2009 Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to three Americans for the discovery of telomerase—something that helped pave the way for understanding cancer.

I remember learning about telomerases in college. I have to say, it’s really nice to have some idea about what this year’s prize was awarded for about without having to look up a lot of things.

By the way, this happens to be the 100th year that the Nobel Prize has been awarded, and coincidentally, it is the 101st post here on Two-Penny Words.

This post refers to:

The Associated Press. Three Americans Share Nobel Prize for Medicine. October 5, 2009.

A few neat things from Friday’s issue of Science:

• Some bacteria use nitric oxide as a weapon against toxins in the soil or host organisms.
• Wind energy could be a viable alternative for China, if they are willing to make the investment.
• I’m not sure how to summarize this. I just think transposons are neat.

A recent study found that the disparities between boys and girls in math are related to gender inequality. The article is available for free if you follow the link provided on the abstract page.

Of course, you should have known that already.

This post refers to:

Janet S Hyde and Janet E Mertz, “Gender, culture, and mathematics performance,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 106, no. 22 (June 2, 2009): 8801-8807, doi:10.1073/pnas.0901265106.

The New York Times has an article today on the gardens around Philadelphia. It turns out that there are a lot, and several of them are either free or have fairly cheap admission. Somehow, I haven’t been to any of these, which is really rather sad. Oh, and if you happen to have a SEPTA pass, you can also get a discount at some of the ones that do charge admission.

You probably know that cows are big producers of methane, which tends to trap heat much more efficiently than carbon dioxide. That makes cows rather environmentally unfriendly as far as global warming goes. Well, it turns out that changing cattle feed may help reduce bovine methane—which, it turns out, is actually released as burps. This finding comes from Stoneyfield Farm, whose yogurt is pretty tasty and good in cooking, incidentally.

This post refers to:

Dobrzynski, Judith H. Philadelphia’s Gardens of Delights. New York Times. June 5, 2009.

Kaufman, Leslie. Greening the Herds: A New Diet to Cap Gas. New York Times. June 4, 2009.

Hi! Remember me? No? That’s okay, I don’t blame you.

Really, this is just a quick stop in to say that Olivia Judson’s blog at The New York Times, called The Wild Side, is back. This time, she’s doing it once per week, on Wednesdays, rather than every day (as she did back in June of 2006). She points out that it’s easier for her to write that way, and it’s also easier for me to keep up with. Go check it out. There are already two entries for 2008, and if you get a chance, read the back entries from 2006, as well.

Apparently Mark Haddon has a new book out called A Spot of Bother. Haddon is the author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which was on the British Librarian’s must read list. The latter book is written from the point of view of Christopher, a teenage boy with autism. Christopher sets out to investigate the death of his neighbor’s dog, a crime in which he is initially a suspect, but winds up learning more about his family and his own past.

I had trouble putting down The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, so I think I’ll be picking up A Spot of Bother when I get a chance.

I just read a review of a book on the psychology of Italy. It sounds pretty interesting. I’ll probably read it eventually (after I get through the 80 other books on my To Read list).

Speaking of books, I did finally finish Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel a few weeks ago. I suspect most of you have read it already, but if you haven’t, I highly recommend it. Just set aside a fair chunk of time for it.

This post refers to:

Grimes, William. An Insider Explains Italy, Land of Cheery Dysfunction. New York Times. August 23, 2006.

Diamond, J., Guns, Germs and Steel. 1999, New York: W.W. Norton and Company.

I’m pleased to say that my latest science piece is now available on Eclectica. It’s about lateral (or horizontal) gene transfer. I hope you will all read it.

Even better (actually much better) than my piece are the entries in The Wild Side, Olivia Judson’s short-lived New York Times blog. If you have access to TimesSelect (it’s not free), go read it. Better yet, go read it first.

This post refers to:

Judson, O. The Wild Side.

Kanumalla, A. When Genes Move Sideways. Eclectica. 2006, Jul; 10(3).

My apologies to those of you who’ve been wondering about me. I’ve been incredibly busy over in the non-virtual world. For those of you who’ve missed my writing, however, you can check out a piece that recently appeared in Eclectica. While you’re there, have a look at some of their other offerings.

The April 17th issue of the American Journal of Cardiology also contains a journal article to which I contributed.

This post refers to:

Davidson MH, Clark JA, Glass LM, Kanumalla A. Statin safety: an appraisal from the adverse event reporting system. Am J Cardiol. 2006 Apr 17;97(8A):S32-43.
(PMID: 16581327)

Kanumalla A. The Red Hair Gene. Eclectica. 2006 Apr; 10(2).