Project X - What's to Eat?

What's to Eat?

Dr. Brian Fleck and Marc Huot wing down to Chicago to try out some unusual dining at the renowned Moto Restaurant where chef Homaro Cantu - a self-proclaimed molecular gastronomist - uses lasers, centrifuges, and liquid nitrogen to create tasty dishes that you wouldn't recognize.

By sacrificing a few drops of blood, Dr. Jennifer Gardy learns that her body is genetically sensitive to the effects of her favourite drink - coffee. She explores a future when food is tailored to each person's unique genetic make-up. And she goes fishing off the coast of P.E.I. for blue mussels - the main ingredient for a promising new nutraceutical.

Dr. Brian Alters travels to Saskatchewan to learn about one of nature's stinkiest but most efficient eaters - the turkey vulture.

Did You Know?

Turkey vultures have a very pungent odor and if they feel threatened their first defense is to throw up. The smell is enough to deter most invaders.
Decaying flesh gives off a gas called mercaptan which turkey vultures can smell from great distances. Gas companies insert it into pipelines and use the turkey vultures to alert them of leaks.
There is archaeological evidence showing that humans roasted food over fires as far back as 420,000 years ago.
As yeast feeds on the sugar found in flour, it creates ethanol and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is what causes the bread to rise and the ethanol evaporates during baking.
Our genes control how we taste our food, so that two people will experience bitterness differently.
A 6cm blue mussel processes almost 70 litres of water per day to filter out the plankton they use for food.

What's to Eat?

Did You Know?

Further Reading

All About Birds: Turkey Vulture

The Turkey Vulture Society

Moto Restuarant

The Science of Cooking

Applied Nutrigenomics Where Genes and Food Come Together

Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals