History

Milk History Does a Body Good

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 21:15:23 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

The history of humans drinking cow’s milk is fascinating and not devoid of controversy.

How the Yew Tree Can Deliver Life … or Death

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 17:34:21 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

The 17-year-old girl presented in the emergency room feeling nauseous and drowsy. She quickly went downhill, with her heart rate and blood pressure shooting up frighteningly and her heart’s rhythm becoming erratic. Then, cardiac arrest.

The Tongue Map Trap

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 02:51:14 +0000

Let me set the scene: it’s the evening, I’m doomscrolling in bed (as is tradition), and a video from Emma Chamberlain pops up. She's slurping espresso with a “coffee expert” who confidently explains that this technique helps spray the coffee across different “taste zones” of the tongue: sweet at the tip, salty on the sides, bitter at the back, and so on. I sit up, wide-eyed, heart beating loud. Why? Because I’ve just witnessed a science myth that I’ve never encountered before in the wild.

The ancient Greek poet Homer characterized it as “liquid gold.” We are talking about olive oil.

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 11:00:00 +0000

Homer was the supposed author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two classics of Greek literature. “Supposed” because there is no real historical record of when he lived, or indeed, if he ever did live. Some historians believe that the Iliad and Odyssey were really compilations of stories passed down by many people over the years. In any case, if Homer did live, he certainly could have referred to olive oil as “liquid gold,” since this was the oil used to flavor food in antiquity.

There Are No Cows in Louis Pasteur's Crypt

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 16:44:44 +0000

Ask the question: “Who introduced the pasteurization of milk?” and I can pretty well guarantee that the answer will be: “Louis Pasteur.” I know because I have carried out that little experiment numerous times. Surprisingly, that answer is wrong.

My story starts decades ago, with a visit to the Pasteur Museum in Paris that houses the apartment where Pasteur and his wife lived during the last seven years of his life, a collection of his scientific equipment, and the ornate crypt where his remains lie.

A Century in the Making: The DNA Discovery Story

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 22:13:49 +0000

When most people hear about the discovery of DNA, they picture James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953, triumphantly holding up a model of the double helix. But DNA’s story doesn’t begin, or end, there. In fact, the molecule that carries our genetic code had been sitting quietly in lab notebooks for almost a century before Watson and Crick entered the scene. The journey from obscure cellular “gunk” to the blueprint of life is a tale full of false starts, overlooked heroes, and more than a little scientific drama.

Double, Double Toil and Trouble

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 12:53:37 +0000

Oh, human nature! When something goes wrong, we try to rationalize why the calamity has occurred. We try to find the cause of our illness or misfortune. Today, many people point accusing fingers at pesticides, vaccines, food additives or electromagnetic radiation as possible culprits that may undermine our health. In less sophisticated times, witchcraft was deemed to be responsible. Natural disasters and physical ailments were thought to be due to spells cast by those in league with the devil. Then, as now, people feared what they did not understand.

Seeds of Hope Require Roots of Integrity: Remembering Jane Goodall

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 10:00:00 +0000

On Wednesday October 1st, 2025, Dr. Jane Goodall passed away while on a speaking tour in the United States. As an esteemed scientist whose life mission was to advocate for wildlife, promote conservation, and strengthen ties between humans and other members of the animal kingdom, she stayed true to her mission up until her final moments. A researcher who spent more of her time traveling than not (300 days out of the year), Dr.

Beauty, Blackmail and ‘Truth in Advertising’

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 16:56:22 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

Before Helena Rubinstein, before Elizabeth Arden and before Estee Lauder, there was “Madame Rachel.” What a fascinating story of rags to riches to … prison.

The Bystander Effect Started from a Lie

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 10:00:00 +0000

You have just been attacked. How likely is it that someone will come to your help?

If you remember the infamous case of Kitty Genovese in 1960s New York, you may despair at ever receiving assistance. Psychology students are diligently taught about this watershed moment; fans of the HBO show Girls were treated to a whole episode about it; and this murder is a core part of the character Rorschach’s origin story in the celebrated graphic novel Watchmen. In the latter, a fictional newspaper headline sums up the tragedy: “WOMAN KILLED WHILE NEIGHBORS LOOK ON.”

“Electric Feel”: A Guide to How Touchscreens Work

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 10:00:00 +0000

I love the beach. What I don’t love is when I try to use my phone after taking a dip. One droplet of water hits my phone and somehow opens an app I didn’t know I had. Unfortunately for me, this is not an experience isolated from the beach. Whether it's sweat dripping on my phone while I’m uploading a run to my Strava, or answering a text fresh out of the shower, the water always seems to make my phone do the opposite of what I want it to do.

The History of Acetaminophen

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 21:46:07 +0000

President Trump’s unhinged, ill-informed and potentially dangerous attack on Tylenol has focussed attention on its active ingredient, acetaminophen. Many others have, and will dissect his harangue (see Jonathan Jarry's article), but I’ll take his vilification of Tylenol as an opportunity to discuss the history of this medication.

Hungary’s House of Houdini Reveals Another Astonishing Magician

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 15:49:38 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

“Did you know about the House of Houdini here?”

Mozart, Mice and Microbes

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 21:51:19 +0000

I must admit that my interest in Mozart has mostly focused on the various theories of his demise in the prime of his youth. The composer had always been sickly, and it is well known that he had often been treated with antimony compounds by his physicians. He even dosed himself when he didn’t feel well. Antimony compounds can indeed be lethal if the dose is high enough. Recently, though, my curiosity about Mozart has taken a different turn. I’ve become interested in his music. Not because I’ve suddenly developed an appreciation for his sonatas.

Einstein’s Brain

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 17:46:23 +0000

Vladimir Lenin lies in a mausoleum in Red Square in Moscow in a preserved state. But he has no brain. That’s because the Soviet government had it removed after he died in 1924. They wanted to have the brain examined scientifically to see how it differed from that of mere mortals. After all, someone who thought up something as clever as communism must have had a very special brain! The item in question was sent to Oskar Vogt, a well-known German neuroscientist, who spent a couple of years studying it. His conclusion?