High throughput method to produce and screen engineered antimicrobial lanthipeptides

IMAGE: Alginate microbeads containing colonies of target cells (green) and producer cells (red). Where the producer cells indeed secrete active lantibiotics, the target cells have disappeared. view more  Credit: Steven Schmitt ETH Zürich Nature has provided us with lots of antimicrobials. However, given the rapid increase of antimicrobial resistance, there is a need for the development…

Can delayed/extended-release methylphenidate allow for once daily evening dosing in ADHD?

IMAGE: Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology is dedicated to child and adolescent psychiatry and behavioral pediatrics, covering clinical and biological aspects of child and adolescent psychopharmacology and developmental neurobiology…. view more  Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers New Rochelle, NY, April 2, 2019–A new three-part study showed that a delayed-release, extended-release form of methylphenidate could…

Vietnam’s Empty Forests

Despite long and tragic wars with the Japanese, the French, the Chinese and the United States during the last century, Vietnam is a treasure house. It is one of the world’s hot spots of biological diversity, according to the science research. There are 30 national parks in a country a bit larger than New Mexico,…

Front Burner: The French Cheese Biography

In his informative book, “Fromages,” Dominique Bouchait explains French cheeses, dividing them into “families,” according to how they’re made, like cooked and uncooked or blue-veined. But what he says about the French varieties applies to cheeses from anywhere. Though Mr. Bouchait — a master cheesemaker based in southwest France — focuses on the 45 French…

Front Burner: A Parisian Pastry Pop-Up

Cédric Grolet — the award-winning pastry chef at Le Meurice, one of Paris’s grand hotels — will take up residence at Dominique Ansel’s bakery in SoHo from Friday through Sunday. He will work with Mr. Ansel and his staff to make some of his dazzling confections mimicking fruits and nuts — lemons, strawberries and hazelnuts,…

Front Burner: Gravlax With a Twist

Durham’s Tracklements, in Ann Arbor, Mich., uses various cures to produce its smoked salmon and other fish. Traditionally, gravlax is salmon cured with salt and spices. Tracklements adds smoking to the process, resulting in salmon that’s mild (though rich), with a hint of smoke. Another new smoked salmon on the roster is cured with ras-el-hanout,…

Front Burner: From Drinking Vinegar to Cordial

Sweet does not begin to describe these new nonalcoholic mixers, with a vinegar base, from Andy Ricker of the Pok Pok restaurants in Portland, Ore. Originally formulated as Asian-style “drinking vinegars,” Mr. Ricker now calls them cordials, to combine with sparkling water for a dry refresher, or to use in cocktails. I’d go even further…

Front Burner: A Japanese Noodle Gets Its Due

Soba, the nutty-tasting buckwheat noodle, will be the subject of a demonstration by Shuichi Kotani, the founder and chief executive of Worldwide-Soba, a factory and consulting company in Flushing, Queens. The particular techniques and equipment involved in producing handmade soba will be explained, and there will be a tasting after the demonstration. Making Soba: A…