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  People once used animal fat to do laundry.  Science & Industry Most laundry detergent has ingredients you probably haven’t heard of — carboxymethyl cellulose is a common one, ditto linear alkylbenzene sulfonate — but one thing it doesn’t contain is animal fat. That hasn’t always been the case, however, as people have  used fat  to do laundry since ancient times. Rendered animal fat has long been present in cleaning products, a practice we only moved past fairly recently. The Mesopotamians were the  first  known group to produce soap, and did so with plant ashes and animal fat.  Other ingredients in proto-detergent solutions included lye and even urine. A set of 14th-century instructions in  A Medieval Home Companion  explains , “If there is any spot of oil or other grease, this is the remedy: Take urine and heat it until it is warm, and soak the spot in it for two days. Then, without twisting it, squeeze out the part of the dress with t...

  Original photo by h heyerlein/ Unsplash Humans Actually Glow. Bioluminescence, the strange biology that causes certain creatures to glow, is usually found at the  darkest depths of the ocean  where the sun’s light doesn’t reach. While these light-emitting animals seem otherworldly, the trait is actually pretty common — in fact, you’re probably glowing right now.  According to researchers at  Tohoku Institute of Technology  in Japan, humans have their own bioluminescence, but at levels 1,000 times less than our eyes can detect. This subtle human light show, viewable thanks to ultra-sensitive cameras, is tied to our metabolism. Free radicals produced as part of our cell respiration  interact with lipids and proteins  in our bodies, and if they come in contact with a fluorescent chemical compound known as fluorophores, they can produce photons of light. This glow is mostly concentrated around our cheeks, forehead, and neck, and most common during t...

The key to protecting rattlesnakes from extinction? Clearing their name and reputation These antiheroes of the American West are actually not so bad. New research reveals they're good parents and neighbors, and their venom may help save lives. By Elizabeth Royte Photographs by Javier Aznar González de Rueda November 13, 2024 The night of  near-continuous rattlesnakes was mellow: the temperature pleasant, the humidity low, the beer cold. Under a crescent moon, the electric golf cart rolled silently over hilly paths. When our headlights illuminated a venomous snake, Matt Goode would hop out—a drink in his right hand, a snake stick in his left—and calmly present the creature for my inspection. Unlike the amped-up fellows on YouTube snatching hissing vipers from beneath wooden boards, Goode never shouted “Dude!” It was early September, and the herpetologist’s field season was winding to a close. For over 20 years the University of Arizona research scientist and his students have been c...