Sci/Tech Scientists unboil an egg, and it may be a big deal

[tom_mai78101]

Scientists have figured out how to unboil an egg.

It may seem like a mere parlor trick, but it is an achievement that could "dramatically" cut costs for cancer treatments, food production and other research in the $160 billion global biotechnology industry, according to a press release that was posted online Friday.

It also means "unboil" is now a word.

As anyone who has ever cooked one knows, egg "whites" are clear until they are cooked. Egg whites are high in protein, and when they cook, the proteins start to unfold, and then fold back up in a tighter, more tangled structure. This is why they go from being clear and mucus-like to white and rubbery.

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, and Flinders University in Australia have figured out a process that can pull apart the tangled proteins allowing them to refold and return to their original structure.

Scientists unboil an egg, and it may be a big deal

The ability to unfold a protein and return it to its original state could save a lot of money in everything from cancer research to food production.

www.cnbc.com

 

[Accname]

And this can be weaponized exactly how?

 

[jonas]

Nah. My teachers said it's irreversible, and teachers never lie

 

[tom_mai78101]

I wanted to promote anti-weaponry science articles.

 

[FireCat]

This is revolutionary.
So, now you can boil, unboil the eggs " then hatch a chicken?"

 

[tom_mai78101]

Whoa there, easy now. You're jumping the gun here.

 

[Wummi]

Yeah my science teacher said "A chemical reaction is irreversable, while a physical reaction is reversable. A perfect example of a chemical reaction is boiling an egg! The egg whites turn white, and you can't turn it transparent again." So much for all the bullshit in school...

 

[tom_mai78101]

Yeah my science teacher said "A chemical reaction is irreversable, while a physical reaction is reversable. A perfect example of a chemical reaction is boiling an egg! The egg whites turn white, and you can't turn it transparent again." So much for all the bullshit in school...

It's not bullshit. We don't have the technology at the time, so we just don't know until now.

And still, even with this knowledge, we still need to reliably reproduce the results to the point that it's a common consensus, so we can put it into our textbook. The process takes a long time.

 

[Varine]

Its always been possible to reverse chemical reactions, its just hard to do.

 

[FireCat]

Egg turning into a gun.. Tom?

 

[tom_mai78101]

Egg turning into a gun.. Tom?

What are you getting here?

 

[Varine]

What are you getting here?

Ditto.

And as an auxiliary record

Egg turning into a gun.. Tom?

And for a PS I want to backstep

So, now you can boil, unboil the eggs " then hatch a chicken?"

No. That isn't how it works. Has anyone explained babies to you yet? For some reason, it would not surprise me otherwise, and on some level I kind of hope so.

 

[FireCat]

No. That isn't how it works.

I think you have an egg complex Varine.
Well, why is it important to unboil an egg? There's already proteins in eggs!

Hmm why not Just "turn a chicken back into an egg!" Scientist would have so much fun. Wouldn't they?

You said gun.. So? Tom

 

[tom_mai78101]

Jumping the gun

You mean that one? It's an idiom:

Start doing something too soon, act too hastily.

 

[Varine]

What does having proteins have to do with the importance of reverting them back to their natural state?

 

[tom_mai78101]

The technology. Unboiling an egg is used as a very simple way to demonstrate the technology. If expanded upon, the technology will be used in other fields.

More additions to technological advances is helpful, even if it doesn't seem to have any uses.

 

[FireCat]

Cancer treatment. What else ? Varine

I actually do know the meaning of the idiom. Tom

 

[Varine]

Go away.

 

[FireCat]

Nah !