The idea that humanity will be wiped out by a meteorite was recently
popularized in the film “Don’t Look Up!” But how likely is this to
happen? The answer, disturbingly, is perhaps more likely than we...
On February 28, 2021, a fireball was observed over the sleepy village of
Winchcombe in Gloucestershire, England. A meteorite from the asteroid
belt near Jupiter was bearing down on the town. Fortunate...
Have you ever thought about the authenticity of the food you are buying?
Maybe asking yourself, is it truly organic and was it really locally
produced? In the end, it is quite difficult to judge where...
Whether at work or within a new circle of friends, with colleagues or
with a long-lost classmate or with a stranger in a train, you can become
victim of small talk.The internet responded to our help m...
“Who is the murderer?” he repeated, as though unable to believe his
ears. “You, Rodion Romanovich! You are the murderer,” he added almost in
a whisper, in a voice of genuine conviction. -- Fedor Dosto...
Using isotope fingerprints to improve protection of the environment In
the first post of this interview, Dr. Andi Smith and Dr. Jack Lacey from
the National Environmental Isotope Facility, Nottingham,...
Part 1: Understanding How Isotope Fingerprints Are Used for
Environmental Investigations In many countries, institutions are
investigating ways to detect and measure pollution levels, allowing
regulat...
The global media frequently reports pervasive air, land and water
pollution events and their associated risks for human and environmental
health. Governments and institutions are focused on improved w...
When investigating for a forensic case, the first step is to collect
physical evidence. In some cases, however, the evidence required can
only be uncovered by means of analytical techniques. Anything ...
A person’s age can be risky to determine without asking directly. But
what about rocks and other materials on Earth? How do scientists
determine the age of a rock? Geochronologists are real detectives...
Food fraud is a significant global problem. It most commonly involves
either simply mislabeling a foodstuff to defraud consumers about its
true origin or adulteration of food and beverages with cheape...
Fraud in the food and beverage industry and how applying isotope
analysis technology can detect it is well documented, as my colleague
Paul Dewsbury has noted in previous Analyte Guru blog posts.As th...
The ProblemOrganically grown products, such as fruit and vegetables, are
more expensive because the farming practices used for growing them are
more environmentally friendly, the yield of good quality...
Selling bottled water is big business with a global market estimated at
280 billion liters in 2014 and consumers in the USA averaging
consumption of 128 liters per person per year. The absence of both...
Lemon juice is deceptively simple in composition, comprising water,
sugars, organic acids (principally citric acid) and small amounts of
amino acids, vitamins and phenolic compounds. As with most frui...
Researching for a nice bottle of wine to take to a party, I did what
many of us do and performed an internet search. High on the results and
distracting me from my task was the following story: World’...
I love the term honey laundering, and in this continually growing food
fraud scandal wouldn’t it be wonderful, almost romantic, if it were
actually the bees that were perpetrating the crime and making...