Microbes & the Future

The vanillin (major flavor compound in vanilla beans) found in most food products on the market is derived from a three-step synthetic process that converts the molecule guaiacol to vanillin. Both natural and chemical methods for this conversion has shown to be expensive and environmentally burdensome, but biotech company Gen9 is providing a more promising route to synthesize vanillin that … Continue reading →

Harvard EdX Course: Science and Cooking

If you’ve ever wanted to take a class at Harvard, here’s your chance! Harvard is offering an online EdX version of its popular course “SPU27x: Science and Cooking – From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Physics.” Class starts October 8th and registration for the course is FREE. During each week of the course, Ferran Adrià … Continue reading →