Free Republic

(Last Updated On: February 6, 2023) NATIONAL FETTUCCINE ALFREDO DAY On February 7th, National Fettuccine Alfredo Day celebrates one of the world’s favorite ways to enjoy a plate of fettuccine. #FettuccineAlfredoDay Fettuccine alfredo enjoys a history as rich as its flavor. Created in 1908, fettuccine was made out of love and concern by an Italian restauranteur. Alfredo di Lelio’s concern for his pregnant wife’s lack of appetite caused him to put his talents to work. The birth of their first son depended on it. His recipe of noodles, cheese, and butter not only encouraged her to eat but she also...

The Weekly Gardening Thread is a weekly gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

University of South Florida Health-led team discovers that the compound fenchol has the same beneficial effect as gut-derived metabolites in reducing neurotoxic amyloid-beta in the brain. Fenchol, a natural compound abundant in some plants including basil, can help protect the brain against Alzheimer’s disease pathology, a preclinical study led by University of South Florida Health (USF Health) researchers suggests. The new study published on October 5, 2021, in the Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, discovered a sensing mechanism associated with the gut microbiome that explains how fenchol reduces neurotoxicity in the Alzheimer’s brain. Emerging evidence indicates that short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)–...

Fenchol, a natural compound abundant in some plants including basil, can help protect the brain against Alzheimer's disease pathology. …Then, they performed large-scale virtual screening of more than 144,000 natural compounds to find potential candidates that could mimic the same beneficial effect of microbiota produced SCFAs in activating FFAR2 signaling. Identifying a natural compound alternative to SCFAs to optimally target the FFAR2 receptor on neurons is important, because cells in the gut and other organs consume most of these microbial metabolites before they reach the brain through blood circulation, Dr. Yadav noted. Dr. Yadav's team narrowed 15 leading compound candidates...

I try to be a good neighbor and get in the spirit of things in the neighborhood. At Christmas, I put up some lights on the front of the house. The really smart neighbor lady at Church kept talking about her "crèche". I didn't want to appear any more ignorant than I am (and some people say they don't think that's possible) so I didn't ask her what a crèche is. Using my superior talents of deduction, I figured that crèche was French for "creek". I like to be a part of the conversation, so I told her that we...

Hailstorms cause pesto shortage in Italy By ARIEL DAVID, Associated Press Writer Mon Aug 21, 5:24 PM ET Lovers of pesto, the tangy green pasta sauce, are bracing for increased prices or even shortages after unseasonable hailstorms in northern Italy destroyed much of the most prized variety of basil, the key ingredient in the Genoese specialty. Hailstones the size of tennis balls smashed glass panes on scores of greenhouses and pummeled fragile basil plants this month, wiping out entire crops near the town of Pra, west of Genoa, the capital of the Liguria region in northwest Italy. "The heart of...