Thanksgiving sides are delicious and can be nutritious − here's the biochemistry of how to maximize the benefits

The turkey doesn’t have to be the star this Thanksgiving. Vegetable side dishes are packed with nutrients − depending on how you prepare them, they can help keep you energized this holiday season.

Julie Pollock, Associate Professor of Chemistry, University of Richmond • conversation
Nov. 17, 2023 ~8 min

Zinc is a metal essential to life – scientists have discovered a protein that helps keep cells alive when zinc levels are low

While iron and calcium are the metals that get the most attention, zinc is also important for human health and function.

Caitlin Murdoch, Postdoctoral Researcher in Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University • conversation
May 17, 2022 ~6 min


What you eat can reprogram your genes – an expert explains the emerging science of nutrigenomics

Scientists are just beginning to decode the genetic messages in your food – and how that may affect your health.

Monica Dus, Assistant Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan Medical School • conversation
March 1, 2022 ~9 min

The 2021 World Food Prize recognizes that fish are key for reducing hunger and malnutrition

Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, is the winner of the 2021 World Food Prize for her work identifying small fish as valuable nutrition sources for developing countries.

Ben Belton, Associate Professor of International Development, Michigan State University • conversation
May 21, 2021 ~9 min

Invasive tawny crazy ants have an intense craving for calcium – with implications for their spread in the US

The spread of tawny crazy ants may be driven, in part, by their need for calcium.

Ryan Reihart, Teaching Assistant and Ph.D. Candidate of Ecology, University of Dayton • conversation
Jan. 21, 2021 ~5 min

Duckweed is an incredible, radiation-fighting astronaut food – and by changing how it is grown, we made it better

Duckweed is the perfect space food: small, fast-growing and nutritious. By studying how light levels changed the production of radiation-fighting antioxidants, researchers made it even better.

Barbara Demmig-Adams, Professor of Plant Ecology and Molecular Biology, University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
July 14, 2020 ~6 min

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