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Food coatings
Most people prefer shiny apples to dull ones, crisp French fries to soggy ones, and fresh nuts to stale ones. Enter food coatings. Some are visible and some are invisible, but they're on much of the food you buy, keeping it fresh-tasting and -looking longer. It's not easy. After all, the coating has to be edible and either taste good or taste like nothing at all. Depending on the food it's applied to, it may be called upon to prevent oxidation, limit moisture and oil transfer and stabilize the food during freezing and thawing. It also has to be able to be applied, stick and stay stuck to all kinds ...Teflon
The first time I saw a Teflon-covered pan, when I was four or five, I thought it was magic. Now that I cook, I'm even more impressed by non-stick surfaces. Teflon was discovered by accident by Roy J. Plunkett, 27, a DuPont scientist who was trying to develop a new chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) for use as a refrigerant by reacting a gas called tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) with hydrochloric acid. He'd prepared 100 pounds of TFE in pressure cylinders, which, for safety reasons, he stored in dry ice. On the morning of April 6, 1938, Plunkett's assistant, Jack Rebok, opened the valve of a canister of TFE--and nothing came out. They weighed the cylinder. The gas was still inside, ...Christmas chemistry
The Physics of Christmas is a very good book by Roger Highland. But there's more science to Christmas than just physics; there's chemistry, too. Consider those popular Christmas spices, ginger and cinnamon. Ginger has been used for thousands of years. Greek bakers were making gingerbread more than four thousand years ago (though probably not in the shape of little men). Ginger's name comes from a Sanskrit word meaning horn-shaped (probably referring to the shape of the root), but its distinctive flavor comes from chemistry, from aromatic compounds called--what else?--gingerols. Cinnamon also derives its flavor from a chemical compound, cinnamic aldehyde. True cinnamon, the bark ...The chemistry of love
Men have always suspected it, but now there's scientific evidence: chocolate makes females more interested in sex. OK, so maybe that's oversimplifying. What the study announced just before Valentine's Day (appropriately enough) really said was that a "messenger protein" called DARPP-32 makes female rodents more interested in sex. But even the study's lead author, Dr. Shaila Mani, a molecular biologist with Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, made the connection. Dr. Mani said that sensory cues such as soft lights, wine and, yes, chocolate, stimulate the brain's production of dopamine. Dopamine, in turn, activates DARPP-32, which gears up the interest in sex. Dr. Mani studied female mice and rats, who don't have sex just ...Platinum
Residents of Cardiff, Wales, were bemused (and probably amused) not to long ago to see a respected geologist out on the streets of town early one Sunday morning, sweeping road dust into a dustpan. Fortunately, Dr. Hazel Prichard hadn't been forced to take up stree-sweeping because she had lost her job at Cardiff University; instead, she was testing a theory that the streets of Cardiff--and most other major Western cities--are slowly becoming paved with platinum. Dr. Prichard told a conference in Cardiff last week that the amount of platinum spewed out on city streets from the catalytic convertors used to control pollution is approaching the point where it might be economical to recycle it. Platinum, which ...Sunscreens
Considering our winters, it's not surprising we love the summer sun. Unfortunately, too much sun isn't good for us: the thinning ozone layer is letting in more ultraviolet radiation than it used to, and as a result, skin cancer is on the increase. That unhappy fact has made sunscreens, concoctions that keep ultraviolet radiation from reaching the skin, all the rage. Just one problem: although they prevent sunburns, we don't know for sure if they prevent skin cancer. Ultraviolet radiation, which make up 15 percent of the solar energy that reaches Earth's surface, packs enough energy to damage our skin's DNA. Our skin tries to fight this by tanning: producing more of the dark pigment melanin. There are two kinds of ...Skunks
There are lots of good things to smell in the summertime: flowers, steaks on the barbecue, fresh-cut grass. But there are also other, less fortunate smells: hot wet dog, five-day-old roadkill--and skunk. My personal experience of the smell of skunk has been limited to a whiff of that inimitable scent wafted on the breeze, for which I am grateful. But many a pet owner has had a much more up-close-and-personal encounter with the smell, and this year has been worse than usual, because the skunk population is booming. That's because there's also a huge population of mice and voles this year and, although most people don't realize it, skunks are predators who feed on mice and voles. (Also grasshoppers, ...Food coloring
Today is the day when all across our land, people gather to celebrate food coloring. In kitchens, in restaurants, in bars, they partake of special holiday foods, each given "a touch of the green"--green beer, green milkshakes, green pasta. It's a touching and important reminder of the importance of color additives to our diet. What's that? It's St. Patrick's Day, not the annual Food Coloring Festival? Oh. Well, whatever day it is, it's still a good one to talk about food coloring, since so much of it will be used, albeit it mostly the same color. Actually, any day would be a good day to talk about food coloring, but ...Garlic
There are few foods that can't be improved with a little garlic. (Ice cream and pecan pie, maybe, but that's about it.) Its distinctive taste has made it a favorite flavoring for thousands of years...although no doubt the ancient Egyptians and Romans, both of whom used it, also made the first jokes about "garlic breath." Nowadays, there are even better reasons than flavor to eat garlic. Garlic (Allium sativum) is related to the onion (big surprise). It produces bulbs covered with a papery skin. Each bulb can be broken into smaller bulblets, called "cloves." It's these cloves that are used for flavoring, either whole or crushed or turned into a ...Winemaking
The process of making wine begins, of course, with growing grapes and extracting their juice. But then what happens? I'm here to elucidate (which is not a word you want to try saying after you've drunk a little too much wine, by the way). Once the juice is in the vat, it’s left to ferment. Traditionally this fermentation was brought about by natural yeasts present on the grape skins, but today cultured yeasts are often added. Yeast feeds on the sugar in the juice and converts it to alcohol. If the wine is left fermenting long enough, the yeast will eventually convert all the sugar into alcohol. The result is a "dry"--non-sweet--wine. However, fermentation can also ...
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Magebane
“Spectacular” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Evil wizards, multi-level conspiracies, hidden kingdoms…Lee Arthur Chane…has done a marvelous job…Magebane is a very entertaining book and well worth the time.” – A.M. Donovan, Night Owl Reviews
I happily recommend Magebane and I’ll certainly give Chane’s next novel a try based on this one.” —Bill Capossere, Fantasy Literature
“…an original and delightful tale of epic fantasy and magic, steampunk science, adventure, tragedy, and love…” – Errant Dreams Reviews
Eight centuries ago, the world changed. A devastating war swept the lands, and the MageLords, who had long ruled by virtue of their spell powers, were driven to a distant place, separated from those they had ruled by a magical Barrier. With magic banished from the rest of the world, the MageLords became mere legend and people turned to science to improve their lives. But if one man has his way, all that is about to change….
Written as Lee Arthur Chane (the middle names of my older brothers, Jimmy Lee and Dwight Arthur, and myself, Edward Chane Willett).
Marseguro
Winner of the 2009 Prix Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English
Water world Marseguro is home to the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from human DNA. When an unmodified human seeks revenge on a Selkie by activating a distress beacon taken from the remains of the original colony ship, a strikeforce is sent from Earth to eradicate the genetic abomination. Yet Marseguro will not prove as easy to conquer as the Earth force anticipates…
Terra Insegura
Finalist for the 2010 Prix Aurora Award for Best Novel in English
Marseguro, a water world far from Earth, is home to a colony of humans and the Selkies, a water-dwelling race created from modified human DNA. For seventy years the colony has lived in peace. Then Earth discovers Marseguro, and a strike force is sent to eradicate this “abomination.” But Marseguro has created a genetically tailored plague to use against Earth’s Holy Warriors. With the enemy defeated, the people of Marseguro feel they are safe. But Chris Keating, the traitor who signaled Marseguro’s location to the Holy Warriors, has fled to Earth, unknowingly carrying the deadly plague within him. The people of Marseguro feel they must send a ship to Earth with a life-saving vaccine. Only time will tell what awaits them when they reach their destination.
Lost in Translation
Kathryn was a human empath whose world and life had been destroyed when the alien S’sinn slaughtered her parents before her very eyes. Jarrikk was a young S’sinn, an unproven warrior who’d seen his flight mates slaughtered by the humans who’d sought to colonize his world.
As humans and S’sinn found themselves on the brink of war, these two Translators had to work together to find a common ground and avert catastrophe. But whether their Translators’ oath and training could overcome the enemies leagued against them was very much in doubt…
Archives
Song of the Sword
My new YA fantasy novel from Lobster Press
Before the Lady called her, Ariane’s life was a mess. Two years ago, her mother disappeared. She bounced around different foster homes until her aunt finally took her in. The meanest clique at her new high school has decided to make Ariane their prime target. And to top it all off, she is having frightening premonitions, and they are becoming more intense. The moment water touches her skin, she sees visions of a lake, a lady, and a sword. When a staircase opens up in the middle of Wascana Lake and the water begins singing to her, she has no choice but to answer the call….
Historic Walks of Regina and Moose Jaw
Ten walks to points of historic and architectural interest in the cities of Regina and Moose Jaw (eight walks for Regina, two for Moose Jaw).
Johnny Cash: The Man in Black
When country music legend Johnny Cash took the stage at Folsom State Prison in 1968, he solidified the public’s perception of him as a rebel who followed his own path. Born in Arkansas during the Great Depression, Cash endured poverty, the death of his older brother, and a difficult relationship with his father. He turned to gospel and country music to express the pain, and after many years of struggling, his songs of hardship and hope would finally reach the ears of those waiting for an artist who represented them, ordinary people fighting to survive.
Andy Warhol: Everyone Will Be Famous for 15 Minutes
“Paintings are too hard. Machines have less problems…” In the 1960s, Andy Warhol became the most famous creator of a new style of art called pop art, which transformed mass-produced items of popular culture into fine works of art. From Campbell’s Soup cans to photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Warhol’s willingness to use anything and everything from the mass media in his work expanded the range of subject matter available to artists. His avant-garde films, artistic usage of American icons, and unconventional social life made him a controversial figure, both greatly admired and deeply reviled. A trendsetter rather than a trend-follower, a dispassionate observer of both the seamy and celebrity sides of life, Warhol was a true American rebel.
Disease-Hunting Scientist
The true stories of six real disease hunters. Epidemiologists travel the world trying to keep us safe from deadly diseases—from high-tech labs in Canada to remote villages in Africa. Learn how these “disease detectives” are coming up with new ways to fight disease, and find out if you have what it takes to become an epidemiologist, too!
The Bounty Mutiny
The Bounty was a British ship visiting Tahiti in 1789 when some of the crew overthrew the captain, William Bligh, and set him adrift in a tiny boat with sailors loyal to him. The mutiny resulted in a number of trials–both of the men who mutinied and of Bligh for losing command of his ship. These fascinating events have been the source for numerous Hollywood movies, most recently The Bounty. The Bounty Mutiny: From the Court Case to the Movie explores the famous case and the movies it inspired.
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