I was researching botulism and tetanus, as you do, when I came across this neat anecdote about the U.S.'s attempt to use botulism as a biological weapon during WWII. This is shortened from the original, to just the interesting bits:

During World War II, the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS) developed a plan for Chinese prostitutes to assassinate high-ranking Japanese officers with whom they sometimes consorted in occupied Chinese cities....

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On Wednesday night, we got a crash course in how our bodies recognize harmful invaders and fend them off. Neat, right? Our immune systems are well-trained armies that can spot foreign bacteria and viruses -- and even remember them for later.

Class reminded me of one of my favorite stories of where a word comes from: the history of the word vaccine.

Back in the day, lots of people died from the disfiguring diease smallpox. These days, we...

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We have lots of free/not-free-yet-awesome things coming your way this week! 

First, on Tuesday, come on up to Public Assembly for our the next installment of our Masters of Social Gastronomy lectures. They're free monthly talks on all things food history and science, presented by Sarah Lohman of Four Pounds Flour and our very own Jonathan Soma. 

This month, we're taking on imitation ingredients, and, best of all, there'll be a...

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I've been on a fermenting rice kick recently (which you'll only see the results of when the experiments are all done), and this morning came across Moyashimon: Tales of Agriculture. Moyashimon: Tales of Agriculture follows the adventures of Tadayasu Sawaki, a first-year college student at an agricultural university.

What a boring dude, right? Totally wrong! He can see microorganisms. Whether it's food poisoning, sake brewing, or...

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Last night I sat in on our Sour Beer class. You might've had a lambic before, or seen them sitting around at a bodega around you - fancy half-wine-looking contraptions full of corks and wire and a comparatively hefty price tag. Although there are a ton of types of sour beer, lambics are probably the most easily found.

Preface: Sour beer is a traditionally Belgian brew made in an unsterile environment, which lets all kinds of crazy yeasts and...

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