Rice is a staple food for billions of people in Asia and Africa. It’s also a versatile ingredient for many iconic dishes from around the world‚ including dolmades from Greece‚ risottos from Italy‚ paella from Spain and rice puddings from the United Kingdom.Despite its universal appeal‚ the question asked in every kitchen‚ be it a professional one or your own home‚ is whether you should pre-wash (or rinse) your rice before cooking.What do chefs and cooks say?Culinary experts claim pre-washing rice reduces the amount of starch coming from the rice grains. You can see this in the cloudy rinse water‚ which studies have shown to be the free starch (amylose) on the surface of the rice grain produced by the milling process.In culinary circles‚ washing is advocated for some dishes when a separated grain is sought after. Yet for other dishes such as risottos‚ paella and rice puddings (where you need a sticky‚ creamy effect)‚ washing is avoided.Other factors‚ such as the type of rice‚ family tradition‚ local health warnings and even the perceived time and effort required will influence whether people pre-wash their rice.For risotto‚ traditionally cooked with arborio rice‚ rinsing the rice is not recommended‚ to help enhance the creamy texture of the dish. ShutterstockIs there evidence that washing rice makes it less sticky?A recent study compared the effect of washing on the stickiness and hardness of three different types of rice from the same supplier. The three types were glutinous rice‚ medium grain rice and jasmine rice. These different rices were either not washed at all‚ washed three times with water‚ or washed ten times with water.Contrary to what chefs will tell you‚ this study showed the washing process had no effect on the stickiness (or hardness) of the rice.Instead‚ the researchers demonstrated the stickiness was not due to the surface starch (amylose)‚ but rather a different starch called amylopectin that is leached out of the rice grain during the cooking process. The amount leached differed between the types of rice grains.So‚ it’s the variety of rice – rather than washing – that’s critical to the stickiness. In this study‚ glutinous rice was the stickiest‚ while medium grain rice and jasmine rice were less sticky‚ and also harder as tested in the laboratory. (Hardness is representative of the textures associated with biting and chewing.)Fried rice dishes‚ such as nasi goreng‚ tend to use less sticky varieties of rice‚ leading to a more fluffy texture. ShutterstockYou may still want to wash your rice‚ thoughTraditionally rice was washed to rinse off dust‚ insects‚ little stones and bits of husk left from the rice hulling process. This may still be important for some regions of the world where the processing is not as meticulous‚ and may provide peace of mind for others.More recently‚ with the heavy use of plastics in the food supply chain‚ microplastics have been found in our foods‚ including rice. The washing process has been shown to rinse up to 20% of the plastics from uncooked rice.This same study found that irrespective of the packaging (plastic or paper bags) you buy rice in‚ it contains the same level of microplastics. The researchers also showed plastics in (pre-cooked) instant rice have been found to be fourfold higher than in uncooked rice. If you pre-rinse instant rice‚ you could reduce plastics by 40%.Rice is also known to contain relatively high levels of arsenic‚ due to the crop absorbing more arsenic as it grows. Washing rice has been shown to remove about 90% of bio-accessible arsenic‚ but it also rinses out a large amount of other nutrients important for our health‚ including copper‚ iron‚ zinc and vanadium.For some people‚ rice offers a small percentage of their daily intake of these nutrients and hence will have a small impact on their health. But for populations that consume large amounts of heavily washed rice daily‚ it could impact their overall nutrition.Another study looked at other heavy metals‚ lead and cadmium‚ in addition to arsenic; it found that pre-washing decreased levels of all these from between 7–20%. The World Health Organization has warned  of the risk of arsenic exposure from water and food.Arsenic levels in rice vary depending on where it’s grown‚ the cultivars of rice and the ways it is cooked. The best advice remains to pre-wash your rice and ensure you consume a variety of grains. The most recent study in 2005 found that the highest level of arsenic was in the United States. However it is important to keep in mind that arsenic is present in other foods including products made from rice (cakes‚ crackers‚ biscuits and cereals)‚ seaweed‚ seafood and vegetables.Can washing rice prevent bacteria?In short‚ no. Washing rice will have no effect on the bacterial content of the cooked rice‚ as high cooking temperatures will kill all bacteria present.What is more concerning is how long you store cooked rice or washed rice at room temperature. Cooking rice does not kill the bacterial spores from a pathogen called Bacillus cereus.If wet rice or cooked rice is kept at room temperature‚ this can activate the bacterial spores and they begin to grow. These bacteria then produce toxins which can not be deactivated by cooking or re-heating; these toxins can cause severe gastrointestinal disease. So‚ make sure you avoid keeping washed or cooked rice at room temperature for too long.Evangeline Mantzioris‚ Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences‚ Accredited Practising Dietitian‚ University of South AustraliaThis article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The first study of bottlenose dolphins’ sensitivity to electric fields has found some can detect electric direct current (DC) fields as weak as 2.4 microvolts per centimeter‚ even better than the measured capacities of platypus. Although still less capable in this regard than sharks and rays‚ the finding suggests electroreceptivity may play a more important role in dolphins’ survival than previously suspected.Dolphins have small pits rich in nerve endings on their face‚ known as vibrissal crypts. A 2022 study confirmed these allow them to detect weak electric fields‚ but provided no indication on how weak that can be. It makes sense for species that live in murky rivers or estuaries to develop alternatives to seeing underwater‚ but for those dolphins that inhabit clearer waters such capacities might prove superfluous.However‚ it seems even in their frequently crystal-clear waters bottlenose dolphins find electrosensitivity useful enough they have maintained it to a considerable degree.Dolphins don’t make the easiest study subjects‚ but a team led by Dr Tim Hüttner of the University of Rostock tested two female dolphins‚ Dolly and Donna‚ from Nuremberg Zoo. Their enclosure consists of nine pools‚ allowing plenty of opportunity to separate the two from each other and the rest of the pod.Once a day each dolphin placed its nose in a headpiece with two electrodes that can produce weak electric fields in the water around them. Dolly and Donna were trained with fish rewards to leave the station when they detected an electric field‚ and stay when they did not.  The field strength started at 500 µV cm−1 and was gradually decreased. By comparison‚ platypus‚ the first mammals to have been found to be electrosensitive‚ can detect fields of 25–50µV cm−1. It turns out the dolphins can do better than that. After achieving a 96 percent success rate at the starting field strength‚ the two did less well‚ but still much better than chance‚ with lower fields. Dolly’s performance reached random levels at 5.5µV cm−‚ and she lost motivation to keep playing below that. Donna proved more sensitive‚ detecting fields down to 2.4µV cm−1‚ and performing well not far above this.Both dolphins proved less adept at detecting alternating current (AC) fields‚ needing field strengths up to 10 times as high at 1 Hz‚ and struggling even more at higher frequencies.“Weak bioelectric fields are a reliable short-range source of information for passive electroreceptive animals as all organisms produce electric direct current (DC) fields in the water‚” the authors write. These fields are created by ion flow from fish or crustaceans‚ and are modulated by low-frequency AC potential from muscle activity.Predators can hunt using these fields‚ particularly when their other senses are blocked. For some fish‚ the capacity to detect electric fields is so essential they produce their own weak electric discharges‚ allowing them to sense a disturbance in the force created by moving prey.More often‚ however‚ electroreception is purely passive‚ detecting the fields created by others. It is suspected this can also extend to the capacity to orientate oneself relative to the Earth’s magnetic field‚ not directly as migratory birds do‚ but through electromagnetic induction in sea water.Electroreception is so useful it has evolved many times on different branches of the animal family tree‚ but it’s only known in mammals from platypus‚ echidnas and some dolphins. The last is particularly curious‚ since their capacity for echolocation might seem to make it unnecessary.Guiana dolphins were the first dolphin species in which electroreceptivity was demonstrated. Living in estuaries around the South American coast‚ and often swimming far up-river‚ they face a particularly muddy environment‚ and much of their diet comes from fish that hide in the sediments on the sea floor. The capacity to detect electric fields these fish produce provides obvious benefits.Bottlenose dolphins have a much more diverse diet. Just as they have developed remarkably innovative methods for safely accessing fish in traps and protecting themselves against sharp objects‚ it seems they have also honed their senses over many generations. If able to see‚ hear‚ taste‚ smell and touch the world‚ as well as detect it through echolocation and sense its electric fields some creatures might be overwhelmed by the surfeit of information‚ but it seems dolphins integrate it all. The authors suggest they use echolocation to detect prey at a distance‚ and electric fields for close-in work.The study is open access in the Journal of Experimental Biology An earlier version of this article was published in December 2023.

Issue 20 (March 2024) of CURIOUS is out now‚ bringing you science highlights for the month plus deep dives into intriguing topics‚ interviews‚ exclusives‚ diary dates‚ and explanations for some of Earth’s most perplexing natural phenomena and landscapes.In This Issue…OUR COVER STORY: Does Technology Help Or Harm Grief?Find out how technology is changing the way we process death.DEEP DIVE: Is There Any Truth To Personality Tests?Can personalities really be placed into neatly labeled boxes?WE HAVE QUESTIONS: How Do Sunken Cities End Up Underwater?And how much history are we losing to the sea?WHERE ON EARTH: Roaming Rocks Live In RomaniaFamous for how they move‚ grow‚ and seemingly reproduce‚ curious herds of rocks can be found across Romania.Exclusive: Meet Author Dr Jen Gunter and read an excerpt from her new book BLOOD: The Science‚ Medicine‚ and Mythology of Menstruation.Plus: News‚ diary dates‚ what to see‚ watch‚ and read this month‚ and much more.Subscribe to the IFLScience newsletter and get every issue of CURIOUS delivered to your inbox free each month.Issue 21 (April 2023) drops on March 31 so subscribe to our newsletter and get it delivered directly to your inbox at the end of each month.Are you CURIOUS? Well go on‚ take a look.

Time slips‚ also known as temporal displacement or time warps‚ is a phenomenon in which an individual experiences a sudden shift in time and space. This can manifest as a feeling of being transported to a different time period or location‚ or even as a brief glimpse into the past or future. The phenomenon has been reported throughout history and across cultures‚ and has been the subject of much debate and speculation. On Wednesday‚ June 11‚ 1997‚ violent thunderstorms raged over Wirral‚ North West England‚ and there was a dramatic lightshow in the heavens over Hoylake as strange forked lightning travelled sideways back and forth across the clouds with a loud crackling and fizzing sound. As the thunder shook the four corners of the peninsula‚ a 67-year-old widower named Jimmy went missing from his home and was last seen walking near Hoylake promenade. Jimmy was being treated for clinical depression at the time and his two sons‚ Roger and Martin‚ drove around looking for him. Roger thought his dad might have decided to ‘go walkabout’ to embark on a pub crawl but Martin‚ always the pessimist‚ feared his father was going to live “off the grid” as a vagrant‚ just to be independent. The sons couldn’t find their absent father. The following day‚ they made a new search as fire crews in the area were being inundated with calls to pump water out of premises flooded by the Biblical storm and to deal with backed up sewers. The police also had their hands full in the mammoth mopping up operation and the chaos it was causing with the roads of Wirral. Out of the blue‚ Roger spotted his father Jimmy strolling down The King’s Gap with an actual smile on his face – something he had not seen in a long time. He pulled up and shouted to his father and got out of the car‚ and Jimmy stood there‚ still beaming that smile. ‘Dad‚ where the hell have you been? Me and Martin have been looking everywhere for you!’ said Roger‚ embracing his father‚ who came back with a strange and shocking answer: ‘I think I died and went to Heaven‚ lad.’ Roger almost pushed him away as he recoiled in surprise‚ ‘What?’ Jimmy wasn’t very coherent and rambled on about Hoylake Sands‚ and ice creams and how he had gone back into the past. ‘Get in the car‚ Dad‚’ Roger said‚ gently guiding his grinning‚ buoyant father into the vehicle. When they got home‚ Martin was so angry at his father for gallivanting without leaving a note to say where he was going but Roger pleaded with his brother to shut up for a moment so their dad could say where he had been. It was a bizarre story. Jimmy had sneaked out of his Hoylake home at 11pm and had been caught in the torrential downpour. He had felt almost hypnotised by the forks of lightning ripping through the black and grey thunderclouds and he had then seen a bright light overhead which he had assumed to be part of some near-death experience; the light was blinding and hot‚ and Jimmy slowly realised it was the sun – a fierce blazing summer’s sun in a sky that was now baby blue. He saw a red diamond-shaped kite hanging in the sky and then Jimmy lowered his eyes – and there was Hoylake Sands‚ crowded with people dressed in the colourful attire of so long ago – it looked like the late 1950s or 1960s to Jimmy. He could not believe his own eyes. He thought for a while that this was heaven – everything was as he remembered it when he was a young man‚ back in his thirties‚ back when he never had any health worries and life was so beautifully simple. Jimmy hurried down to the sands and felt the furnace heat of the sun drying his wet clothes‚ and couldn’t stop smiling; the awful depression that had blighted his life had now evaporated. The initial religious conviction that this was some form of nostalgic paradise eventually subsided and Jimmy realised he had somehow gone back in time‚ and he discovered‚ from talking to bemused people‚ that he was in the year 1966. People who report timeslips to me seem to belong to two groups; those who become afraid of being stranded in the past (and occasionally the future) and those who want to stay in a bygone age because they feel the times were better back then – Jimmy belonged to this latter group. He had two sons and knew he would miss them terribly‚ but seeing Hoylake in 1966 on a scorching hot day and glimpsing some of the characters he had known when he was young (like old Mr Prescot from nearby Market Street) was simply utopia to him. Jimmy could hear the music of The Beatles piping from a little transistor radio next to a sunbathing lady‚ and now he felt like crying. Was this just a dream? He crouched down and went to clutch some sand to make sure it was real when a child accidentally booted a beach ball in his face. He laughed as the child apologised. He looked at the ice cream hut and knew the credit card in his pocket couldn’t buy a Ninety-niner – he was technically skint. Jimmy spent some time on that beach‚ all the time dreading the arrival of 1997. He walked away and eventually strolled to Market Street and lingered outside the Woolcraft Shop where Jimmy’s mum and auntie were always buying wool to knit jumpers for him and his brothers‚ and he looked in on the Trustee Savings Bank on the corner of Wood Street‚ before visiting the DIY shop where his uncle was always sending him for screws and nails. And then‚ as a Pink Paraffin van went past Jimmy‚ everything vanished. Just as he had dreaded‚ boring drizzly 1997 was back‚ and at first he wanted to try and turn around and run back to 1966‚ but then he felt as if some higher intelligence – perhaps God – had let him go back to 1966 just to show him what type of person he still was at heart‚ despite the years of depression and anxiety. Well‚ Jimmy’s sons insisted upon him visiting his ‘quack’ because after hearing about his ‘time trip’ they really did now fear for his mental health‚ but when Jimmy calmly discussed his experience with his doctor‚ the GP seemed fascinated and said he believed Jimmy had not hallucinated the stroll into the past‚ but had somehow – through some phenomenon awaiting to be discovered by science – visited 1966. ‘I still have the trainers with the sand in them‚’ said Jimmy‚ pensively‚ ‘the sands of 1966 – the only bit of my past I could save‚ and I’ll treasure that sand‚ and I know some people might say I’m potty‚ but I don’t care what they say or think‚ I went back there‚ doctor.’ Timeslips are now recognised by science – there are types of minor slippages in the space-time continuum that are caused by gravity waves‚ and they were first observed properly in September 2015‚ and since then‚ scientists have been steadily learning more about the ways these waves can mess with time and space. They have also discovered that‚ despite what people say about nothing being able to move faster than light‚ that space-time itself can expand faster than light: This doesn’t violate the rules of Relativity‚ as nothing is physically moving through space‚ but rather space itself is stretching‚ and some physicists think these little discoveries will lead us one day to a machine as sophisticated and as powerful as the Large Hadron Collider which will allow us to first televise the past‚ and then allow us to visit the past in person. I sincerely hope they use such a machine for a peaceful purpose. Author: Tom Slemen‚ a Liverpool writer‚ known foremostly as the author of the best-selling Haunted Liverpool series of books which document paranormal incidents and unsolved or unusual crimes. Check his Books on Amazon here. The post Mysteries of timeslips: The man who visited 1966 appeared first on Anomalien.com.

Elden Ring is two years old. It’s hard to imagine that FromSoftware’s biggest cultural phenomenon since Dark Souls has been with us for two whole years‚ but it has. In that time we’ve finally got our first look at Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree‚ a release date for the DLC‚ and so many great mods you could blindly pick one from a hat. Now though‚ Elden Ring has seen a spike on Steam‚ and the concurrent players have even re-entered the six figures. Yes‚ really. Continue reading Elden Ring soars to its most players in a year on its second birthday MORE FROM PCGAMESN: The best Elden Ring builds‚ Elden Ring bosses‚ The best Elden Ring classes

The long wait is finally over. After over a decade in the works‚ more than six years since its initial reveal‚ and a vast and sprawling sea of release date delays that extend all the way back to 2018‚ Ubisoft's epic multiplayer pirate adventure‚ Skull and Bones‚ finally launched ship a little over a week ago. And as one might expect from a game that's been as publicized as much as this one over the course of several years‚ it fell face-first on the poop deck.

Many animals have a good sense of smell‚ but can they smell chemical signals that indicate a person is fearful?

Researchers recently mapped out the magnetic field of the gargantuan galaxy cluster "El Gordo." The resulting map of swirling magnetic field lines is the largest of its kind.

(Natural News) A member of the Canadian Parliament from the far-left New Democratic Party (NDP) is calling for any person promoting fossil fuels to be penalized with up to $1‚000‚000 and to…

[…] The post 3 Key Principles for Building Emergency Kits appeared first on The Survival Mom.