Word: fungi
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Kunming Rare Truffle Co.'s Wu cheerfully admits that some of his European and American clients mix his fungi with French ones. But the former metallurgist is astounded less by the chicanery than by the prices his truffles can command abroad. What Wu sells to wholesalers for $80 a kilo can be resold to Westerners for 30 times that, or more than double the average yearly income in China. "Who would pay that much for a mushroom," Wu marvels. "Is it because they think it's an aphrodisiac?" (Since medieval times, many have believed just that.) Nevertheless, Wu does maintain...
...tell that to Guy Cubaynes, a truffle harvester from the southern French town of Lalbenque, who is taking his 250-kg pig named Kiki for her first truffle hunt of the season. Cubaynes' family has been gathering truffles since the 1850s, searching for the fungi under the shade of oak trees. He says dealers in Chinese truffles have even infiltrated the center of French truffle production. Every week, Cubaynes claims, these merchants show up at the market in Lalbenque with the same number of truffles in their baskets, a suspicious constancy that normal truffle collecting does not tend to provide...
...France is now counting on modern science to catch the truffle imposters. The National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRA) has developed a DNA analysis to distinguish French fungi from the Chinese ones without a taste test. Although French regulations call for a truffle's origins to be clearly marked, truffle experts say many vendors either ignore the rules or engage in outright mislabeling. France's fraud-control directorate now carries out random DNA testing to flush out bogus-truffle dealers. Anyone caught intending to deceive the consumer with a Chinese truffle may be fined $1,300. Still, there...
...nano-shave two silver plates the size of chewing-gum sticks. The resulting silver particles are sprayed into the tub during the wash cycle. The silver ion inhibits bacterial growth. According to the Korea Testing & Research Institute for the Chemical Industry, Samsung's device kills 99.9% of bacteria and fungi. Kim says garments stay germ-free for up to a month after being laundered. The Ag+ Nano device went on sale in March 2003 (just ahead of other silver-nanotech appliances from competitors LG and Daewoo) and costs around $1,150. The revolutionary technology is also being used in Samsung...
...year-old Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang has adopted an equally idiosyncratic approach to preparing for the 110-m hurdles. "Plenty of mushrooms and seafood," the Shanghai native confides. "In traditional Chinese medicine, these foods are famous for giving you extra energy." With the aid of fish and fungi, Liu beat American multiple-world-title holder Allen Johnson with an Asian-record time of 13.06 seconds at a Grand Prix event in Osaka in May, and he continued his mastery with a pair of victories in Europe a month later. Liu's triumphs even persuaded the Chinese Track and Field Association...