X-raying eggs while they cook reveals how egg white becomes solid

When an egg is heated, its proteins unfold and form bonds with each other – an X-ray analysis has shown this happening on the micrometre scale over the first 160 seconds of cooking Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2270129-x-raying-eggs-while-they-cook-reveals-how-egg-white-becomes-solid/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Greek ship carrying parts of the Parthenon is giving up more secrets

The latest expedition by divers to the wreck of the Mentor, which sank just off the island of Kythera (also spelled Kithira and Kythira) in 1802, has recovered several pieces of the ship's rigging, coins, the leather sole of a shoe, a metal buckle, a token for playing cards, two chess pieces, fragments of cooking… Continue reading Greek ship carrying parts of the Parthenon is giving up more secrets

Physicists finally figured out why food sticks to a frying pan

Uneven heating in a frying pan causes variance in the surface tension of cooking oil and leads to dry patches that can make food to stick to pans Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2266479-physicists-finally-figured-out-why-food-sticks-to-a-frying-pan/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

‘Recovering’ QAnon Members Seek Help from Therapists, Subreddits, and On Telegram

“More than at any point since the QAnon conspiracy began, there is a tremendous opportunity to pull disaffected followers out of the conspiracy,” writes FiveThirtyEight. And while it’s just one of three possible scenarios, online posts suggest at least some members are abandoning the group, “but they will need support to really sever their connection.” ABC News reports that some QAnon…

The Highest Resolution Photos Ever Taken of Snowflakes

Photographer and scientist Nathan Myhrvold has developed a camera that captures snowflakes at a microscopic level never seen before. Smithsonian Magazine reports: Myhrvold, who holds a PhD in theoretical mathematics and physics from Princeton University and served as the Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft for 14 years, leaned on his background as a scientist to create the camera. He also tapped…

Most-Played Song of 2020? For Many It’s White Noise

An anonymous reader shares a report: In an average year, Spotify Wrapped is a sharing-optimized novelty hinging on nostalgia for a time that’s barely passed. But in 2020, this data mirror instead presented many users with unexpected empirical evidence of their pandemic coping mechanisms: a strange hit parade of ambient music, background noise and calming sound effects that soothed them through…

NASA Tests New $23 Million Titanium Space Toilet

NASA’s first new space potty in decades — a $23 million titanium toilet better suited for women — is getting a not-so-dry run at the International Space Station before eventually flying to the moon. The Associated Press reports: Barely 100 pounds (45 kilograms) and just 28 inches (71 centimeters) tall, the new toilet is roughly half as big as the two…

Shell Reportedly To Slash Oil and Gas Production Costs To Focus More On Renewables

An anonymous reader quotes a report from CBC.ca: Royal Dutch Shell is looking to slash up to 40 percent off the cost of producing oil and gas in a major drive to save cash so it can overhaul its business and focus more on renewable energy and power markets, sources told Reuters. Shell’s new cost-cutting review, known internally as Project Reshape…

Facebook Goes After Apple

Facebook is seeking to force a face-off with Apple over its 30% in-app purchase commission fee, which Facebook suggests hurts small businesses struggling to get by during the pandemic. From a report: Facebook has never publicly gone after Apple, a key strategic partner, this aggressively. Both companies face antitrust scrutiny, which in Apple’s case has centered on the very fee structure…

Their Businesses Went Virtual. Then Apple Wanted a Cut.

After Airbnb and ClassPass began selling virtual classes because of the pandemic, Apple tried to collect its commission on the sales. From a report: ClassPass built its business on helping people book exercise classes at local gyms. So when the pandemic forced gyms across the United States to close, the company shifted to virtual classes. Then ClassPass received a concerning message…