In Short

Sayonara, SALMONELLA. A new technique that quickly pasteurizes eggs in the shell could lead to a drop in illnesses caused by egg-borne salmonella. The approach uses radio-frequency energy and maintains the egg white’s appearance, unlike other methods. The technique, announced in August, was developed by Christopher Brunkhorst, an engineer at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory who has helped design heating systems for the lab’s fusion-energy experiments. He worked on the project in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A gene variation that makes mothers more likely to react to their environment may lead some to engage in harsh PARENTING during deteriorating economic conditions, researchers say. The study, which looked at maternal parenting (but not paternal parenting), was co-authored by sociology professor Sara McLanahan and published in August in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers also found that, regardless of a family’s financial situation, a general economic downturn can negatively affect maternal parenting.