Free Republic

Tomatoes could help fight off bacterial infections in your gut, a new study has found. One of the world's most widely consumed vegetables (or perhaps fruit?), they are packed with antioxidants, vitamins, and other compounds – two of which scientists at Cornell University in the US have identified for their potent bacteria-killing properties in a series of cell experiments. The research team, led by Cornell microbiologist Jeongmin Song, was interested in Salmonella, a genus of enteric bacteria that invade the intestine, often causing food poisoning. Specifically, the team focused on one typhoidal serotype of Salmonella, Salmonella enterica Typhi, which lives...

There’s a revolution coming to your supermarket, and it’s going to start in the tomato aisle. After more than a decade of study, researchers at the University of Florida have identified the chemical compounds responsible for giving a great tomato its distinctive sweet, earthy, slightly grassy taste. They have also determined the genes that code for these chemicals and where they can be found in the tomato genome. Their results, published Thursday in Science, could help breeders create tomatoes that are hardy enough to survive the often long and arduous journey from field to store without sacrificing flavor. Experts say...

Zatta Melon