|
Happy Sunday − and welcome to the best of The Conversation U.S. Here are a few of our recently published stories:
I try to avoid wasting food, so when bread or some fruit gets to that iffy stage, I’m inclined to salvage what I can – cut off the moldy bits and eat the rest. Am I rolling the dice with my health?
“The line between harmless fermentation and dangerous spoilage is sharp,” explains Brad Reisfeld, a toxicologist and researcher at Colorado State University specializing in how chemicals released during food spoilage affect the body.
“Consuming spoiled foods exposes the body to a range of microbial toxins and biochemical by-products,” he notes. “The health effects can vary from mild gastrointestinal discomfort to severe conditions such as liver cancer.”
In his article, one of last week’s most popular, Reisfeld explores the various types of molds and bacteria that feast on different kinds of food and offers advice on where to draw the line at salvaging partially spoiled food.
|
Brad Reisfeld, Colorado State University
Molds and bacteria can produce dangerous toxins − and they don’t taste very good, either.
|
|
|
Iain Boyd, University of Colorado Boulder
The Russian military claims to have flown its Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile 8,700 miles over 15 hours.
| |
Richie Zweigenhaft, Guilford College
Psychologist Richie Zweigenhaft found a link between signature size and self-esteem. A growing body of research has since established a link to narcissism as well.
|
Penelope Geng, Macalester College
Artists often turn to the supernatural to reflect on and speak to the anxieties brought about by social, religious and political upheaval.
| |
Rachelle Wilson Tollemar, University of Wisconsin-Madison
While the rest of nature rises and slumbers to lunar and solar cycles, humans work and sleep to the resetting of their artificial clocks.
|
|
|
C. Michael White, University of Connecticut
This recall affects America’s most prescribed drug. It’s the latest in a series of concerning manufacturing issues that have come to light over the past few years.
|
|
|
Murugan Anandarajan, Drexel University
Two surveys of hundreds of companies shed new light on what employers want.
| |
Roshanak (Roshi) Nateghi, Georgetown University
Many of the canceled grants were investments in the science and infrastructure necessary to keep the lights on in coming years, especially when the grid is under stress.
|
Félice Lê-Scherban, Drexel University
Starting Nov. 1, 2025, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits will stop being distributed in Pennsylvania due to the federal government shutdown, which began Oct. 1.
| |
David Patterson Soule, University of Richmond; Kyle Redican, University of Richmond
With a new, mid-cycle redistricting war raging in state after state, the media and politicians focus on which party is winning or losing seats. But are citizens winning or losing in this conflict?
|
|
|
News Quiz 🧠
|
-
Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation
Test your knowledge with a weekly quiz drawn from some of our favorite stories. Questions this week on gambling, rock-and-roll and (prescription) drugs.
|
|
