Scientists have found a way to turn waste byproducts from the olive oil production process into biosurfactants and monoglycerides, molecules immensely useful to the chemical and food industries. Biosurfactants and monoglycerides are surface active agents, or surficants — part oil-soluble component, part water-soluble component. Surficants are used to lower surface ... Read More »

A Washington Post Magazine story about children accidentally left in cars has haunted me for years. The story, called “Fatal Distraction” and published in 2009, centered on the horrifying mistake that can lead to a child’s death. What’s more confounding is that this is a relatively new problem. It goes ... Read More »