Tim Barribeau, Author at Gizmodo

What is the chemical composition of the perfect tomato?

The difference between a locally grown heirloom tomato and the mass produced one is pretty obvious to anyone with a palette — but amongst the infinite variation of different varieties of a fruit, is there something you can link directly to deliciousness? Through the chemical analysis, and blind taste tests, of 152 different varieties of…

io9 Tim Barribeau May 25

Could your next hard drive be made with DNA?

Okay, so maybe not your next one, but in a few year’s time? Maybe your storage will be writ across DNA itself. Researchers at Stanford have developed a method to store binary code on DNA. Dubbed the “recombinase addressable data (RAD) module,” the method controls the synthesis and degradation of two proteins, integrase and excisionase.…

io9 Tim Barribeau May 24

“Ancient” dog breeds? Not so ancient, it turns out.

Some fourteen breeds of dogs are generally considered “ancient,” including the samoyed, shar pei, and saluki. But while these breeds have been given this label for their supposed link to the predecessors of modern canines, new research reveals that they’re as modern as every other dog on the block. A group of biologists analysed genetic…

io9 Tim Barribeau May 24

Could an IUD be the best emergency contraceptive around?

The use of intra-uterine devices (IUDs) never took off in the USA as contraceptives, the way they did in the rest of the world. But a new study might change that. Researchers tracked 35 years’ worth of data and found that the copper-T is not only an effective long-term birth control tool, but arguably the…

io9 Tim Barribeau May 11

Your commute is killing you

Everybody already knows that sitting at your desk all day is terrible for your health. But now it looks like the same thing is true for driving to and from work. A new study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine looked at more than 4,000 adults in Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin, and indexed their…

io9 Tim Barribeau May 11

Gastroenteritis outbreak linked to reusable shopping bag

You know those woven reusable shopping bags we all drag along to the grocery store with us? Well, now one of those has been linked to a norovirus outbreak at a girls’ soccer tournament. Top image: pond5/Awrangler In 2010, a group of 17 young Oregonian women, aged between 13-14, and four adult chaperones, went to…

io9 Tim Barribeau May 11

Chimpanzees have nutcracker neighborhoods

We know that disparate chimp tribes separated by large areas have different behaviors and cultures, but what about those near to one another? It appears that neighboring chimpanzees do act differently in one key way: how they crack open nuts. Three groups of chimpanzees living in Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire, all of are adjacent…

io9 Tim Barribeau May 11

Crete was once swarming with tiny mammoths

Here’s proof yet again that some of the cutest animals to ever walk the Earth are now long extinct — it seems islands in the Mediterranean may once have been crawling with tiny, tiny mammoths. The newly identified Mammuthus creticus has been identified from previously misattributed bones and new research, and this tiny mammoth would…

io9 Tim Barribeau May 10

Statistics proves once and for all that authors are a product of their times

You only have to pick up an old novel to realize that people write very differently than they did 100 years ago, or even a couple generations ago. But is it possible to quantify those differences? Could pick apart centuries’ worth of literature, and track their age based only on the words on the page?…

io9 Tim Barribeau May 4

Have we learned how to use taxes to keep people from getting drunk?

The British Government is about to push through a law that requires a minimum price of 40p per unit of alcohol to try and stop binge drinking — but one expert argues that taxing sin has done little to curb it in the past. Top image: Ewan M. on Flickr. Cambridge University’s Dr Philip Withington…

io9 Tim Barribeau May 4

Silk scaffolding could help rebuild your bones

We’ve already learned recently that spider silk could help your computers stay cool — but now it looks like it could help you heal from broken bones as well. Newly published research explores the idea of using silk proteins as a nanoscaffold, to help bones knit and repair. They created a biodegradable silk scaffold that…

io9 Tim Barribeau May 4

Friendly dolphins help Brazilian fishermen to catch fish

We think of dolphins as playful — but they may also be more cunning than we ever realized. A subset of the dolphin population in Laguna, Brazil has started cooperating with human fishing expeditions. The dolphins will help people get better catches, in return for whatever the fisherman discard. They’ll drive schools of mullet towards…

io9 Tim Barribeau May 4

Could garlic extract prevent food poisoning?

Diallyl sulfide is what gives garlic its characteristic smell and flavor, and is a latter day miracle compound, linked to everything from stopping colon cancer to blocking mold. Now you can add another use to that list. It’s been discovered to be an incredibly effective way to fight Campylobacter, the bacteria that cause a huge…

io9 Tim Barribeau May 2

Are allergies our best defense against biohazards?

As common as they are, the origins of allergies are poorly understood. The prevailing theory is that they evolved as a method of defense against macroparasites — like ticks and worms — that are now triggered by a much wider variety of causes. However, a group of researchers from Yale think we’re looking at it…

io9 Tim Barribeau Apr 29

Pigeons have a magnetic GPS in their brain

We’re still working on understad how animals detect magnetic fields, but what’s going on in their brains to make sense of it all? Researchers have discovered the part of pigeon’s brain that can process magnetic signals they detect, and it’s enough to direct them travelling across the globe. https://gizmodo.com/wait-maybe-birds-dont-have-compasses-in-their-beaks-af-5901098 How do you find out what’s…

io9 Tim Barribeau Apr 29

Why do cultures always name red before they do blue?

The way different languages view colors is a curious topic. Much has been made of Homer’s wine dark seas, and I’ve seen it claimed that Chinese had no word for pink before modern European contact, while the Russians use separate words for dark and light blue. Yet amongst all cultures, the historic and pre-historic record…

io9 Tim Barribeau Apr 28

Major Shock: Long-Term Pollution Exposure Linked to Heart and Lung Disease

By now, you shouldn’t be surprised when air pollution is linked to hospitalizations, but what about long-term disease? A a new study in PLoS is among the first pieces of research that looks at how pollution can damage your health in the long term. Most research, until recently, only looked at short-term risks from heavy…

io9 Tim Barribeau Apr 27

Could controlling oxygen help us regenerate bones?

Let’s face it, humans aren’t too good at the whole “regenerating limbs” thing. In fact, the only way we can regrow bones is if we only lose the tip of one of our fingers or toes. But what makes that loss different to any other part of the body? Research being presented at the American…

io9 Tim Barribeau Apr 27

Birds spotted growing plants for prettiness

Bowerbirds are the incredible creatures renowned for the artlike displays the males craft to attract the females. Looking for all the world like an Andy Goldsworthy work, the intricately crafted cathedrals of twigs, scattered with colored petals are astonishing displays of craft. The birds have long been known to hunt down objects of a certain…

io9 Tim Barribeau Apr 26

Election Watch parses all the election coverage, so you don’t have to

The sheer volume of media coverage of the American election cycle makes it impossible to keep on top of everything being reported, and even harder put it all together into a database worth analyzing from a sociological standpoint. Thankfully, computers are excellent and chewing through immense mounds of repetitive information, and Election Watch from the…

io9 Tim Barribeau Apr 26

Tim Barribeau

What is the chemical composition of the perfect tomato?

Could your next hard drive be made with DNA?

“Ancient” dog breeds? Not so ancient, it turns out.

Could an IUD be the best emergency contraceptive around?

Your commute is killing you

Gastroenteritis outbreak linked to reusable shopping bag

Chimpanzees have nutcracker neighborhoods

Crete was once swarming with tiny mammoths

Statistics proves once and for all that authors are a product of their times

Have we learned how to use taxes to keep people from getting drunk?

Silk scaffolding could help rebuild your bones

Friendly dolphins help Brazilian fishermen to catch fish

Could garlic extract prevent food poisoning?

Are allergies our best defense against biohazards?

Pigeons have a magnetic GPS in their brain

Why do cultures always name red before they do blue?

Major Shock: Long-Term Pollution Exposure Linked to Heart and Lung Disease

Could controlling oxygen help us regenerate bones?

Birds spotted growing plants for prettiness

Election Watch parses all the election coverage, so you don’t have to

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