Bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms are responsible for the decomposition of food. Like other living beings, these creatures need water to survive , so the best way to prevent them from proliferating at ease is to "turn off the tap". And there are two simple strategies to do it: with salt , which extracts water from the tissues by the physical-chemical phenomenon of osmosis; or with the sun's rays , which evaporate the water content of food.
Why does dried food not rot?
This bacterium could still survive under the soil of Mars
Known as 'Conan the bacterium', it could subsist for 280 million years under the surface, protected from radiation, scientists say.
What would the 'Mediterranean diet' be without America?
It is one of the most famous diets, and one of the healthiest, but many of its foods have a very distant origin.
How does a 'zombie' bacterium come back to life?
Scientists have detected unexpected activity in physiologically dead bacteria, deciding when it is safe to 'resurrect' if the environment is friendly to them.
Tiny robots manage to remove pneumonia from the lungs of mice
Scientists have eliminated pneumonia microbes present in the lungs of mice using a swarm of microrobots.
First direct evidence that babies react to taste and smell in the womb
Fetuses smiled after their mothers ate carrots, but frowned at the taste of kale, according to a new study.