Cutting mold off your food does not make it safe to eat

Black mold isn’t more worrisome than other colors of mold

Black mold typically refers to Stachybotrys chartarum, a mold that commonly appears in damp or water-damaged areas of the home. Black mold—and other molds—won’t typically make otherwise healthy people ill, and all molds should be treated the same with respect to health risks and removal. If you have mold allergies, mold can cause an allergic response, and it can trigger asthma attacks for people with asthma. If you have a compromised immune system, then black mold exposure can also cause a fungal infection in your airways or elsewhere in the body.

Fungi can cause disease, but they’re also our planet’s key decomposers

Fungi are their own taxonomic kingdom separate from flora and fauna, acting as the key decomposers and nutrient recyclers for our planet. Watch this video to understand the diverse types of fungi and the stages of the fungal life cycle. This video illustrates how fungi species may spread, eat nematode worms, damage nearby plants, and much more.

Natural toxins produced on plants or consumed by animals may cause food poisoning

When humans eat plants with certain natural toxins on them—including a family of toxins called aflatoxins that fungi produce on crops like peanuts and corn— they can become ill with food poisoning. Toxins can still harm humans even if animals or plants appear fine to the human eye. The World Health Organization advises that we should throw away moldy or discolored foods, refrain from eating wild plants or mushrooms that aren’t definitively nonpoisonous, and remember that just because something is “natural” it’s not always safe to eat.

Cantaloupe’s textured skin boosts the risk of food poisoning

Food safety expert Darin Wetwiler says he prefers to stay clear of this fruit altogether since it’s so hard to keep the textured skin pathogen-free. He advises trying to avoid pre-cut cantaloupe in particular, since consumers won’t know when the fruit was sliced and pathogens on the outside could have been spread to the part we consume during slicing and multiplied.

The science of food allergies

Why do certain substances trigger an immune response while others don't? Listen to researchers explain the science in this five-minute video. Food allergies affect around 8% of children and 2% of adults in the US, and—unlike sensitivity or intolerance—they involve the immune system mistaking certain harmless proteins in foods as dangerous invaders, triggering a rapid and sometimes severe defense response.

Foods shouldn't be defrosted on the counter, but microwaving to defrost is okay

This wide-ranging video from the US Food and Drug Administration explains causes of food poisoning and tips for consumers. The agency's advice includes that we should separate meat and eggs from our veggies and fruits in our shopping carts, during food prep, and in the fridge (with meat located below veggies in the refrigerator in case it drips).

Just because leftovers look and smell okay doesn’t mean they’re safe to eat

Despite what the sniff test is telling you, older leftovers should probably be trashed. Pathogens that cause illness don’t usually affect the taste, smell, or appearance of food (though if they look bad, you should chuck them as well). Scientists recommend tossing leftovers within a few days even if they appear to be fine.

White powder on cheese is rarely mold

The white, powdery substance that forms on cheese is not mold but crystals that typically signal a well-aged cheese. There are two types: inorganic crystals, which result from the cheesemaking process, and organic crystals, which occur from the natural breakdown of amino acids.

The FDA claims microplastics have not yet been shown to pose a health risk

Although microplastics and nanoplastics are found in many foods and environments, their presence does not violate regulations. Additionally, as of 2025, the administration believes evidence does not confirm that detected levels harm humans.

Mold growth in space raises the hypothesis of life being brought to Earth

Panspermia suggests that life could be carried throughout the cosmos by asteroids, comets, and other objects, but it requires organisms that can withstand the extreme cold of space travel, stellar radiation, lack of water, and intense heat of planetary impacts. The discovery of mold on the International Space Station and experiments showing it can withstand radiation in outer space-like conditions increase the plausibility of the hypothesis.

Watch the iterative process of successfully printing a slice of vegan cheesecake

3D printing food requires integrating ingredients with a variety of properties, which may not all resist the physical stress of stacking. This means successful 3D printing of food may require rethinking how ingredients are layered and modifying ratios of each, potentially sacrificing taste for structural integrity.

How to avoid a 'bad trip' advice includes relaxing your mind if you experience scary things and not fighting the feeling

In this video, Michael Pollan, author of "This Is Your Mind On Plants," underscores the gaps in existing understanding about the substances and recommends only taking guided experiences, for safety and help. He tackles how psychedelics work, explains microdosing and psychedelic risks, how the substances could be used to treat addiction, and the history of psychedelic stigma.

Learn about the basic anatomy of mosquitoes

This short explainer video breaks down the mosquito's general body components, highlighting how mosquitoes breathe, fly, and more. It also touches on how experts can tell different mosquito species apart.

What exactly is a GMO?

A GMO, or genetically modified organism, is an organism whose DNA has been altered for specific improvement such as longer shelf life, disease resistance, or enhanced nutrition—which can benefit both farmers and consumers. While humans have used...

What is asbestos, actually?

Asbestos can hurt you, but not many people understand how or why. Asbestos is actually a stone, once frequently employed as a construction material due to its strength, softness, fire-resistance, and biodegradability. However, when working on old homes or furniture, it may be released into the air, and extended exposure to its particles may cause lung cancer. Its use in new construction has been banned, but it remains a hazard. Learn more here.

Fear or disgust related to clusters of holes and cracks, called trypophobia, may stem from evolutionary processes to help us avoid pathogens.

Why your wine smells unpleasant

Ever had the experience of receiving a bottle of wine with a janky, less-than-favorable odor? This Esquire article ventures to answer this question and offers the explanation that the culprit is likely corked wine. Read to understand why corks can create a moldy or musty scent, and feel emboldened to send a corked bottle back for something with improved quality.

Remember: Not all fats are bad for you

Contrary to past dietary advice promoting low-fat diets, newer research shows that certain types of fats are both necessary and healthy. It all comes down to the type of fat you eat. Focus on getting "good" unsaturated fats from sources like nuts,...

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

The weakest form of light that is dangerous to humans is ultraviolet

Unlike radio waves, microwave, infrared, and visible light, UV light can produce chemical changes, such as curing adhesives and resins, causing substances to fluoresce, and destroying the genetic material of microorganisms. This makes UV light useful for sterilization, forensics, and quickly drying nail polish.

Breaking down various tongue disorders, from infections to genetics

Taste is one of our fundamental senses, but can be impeded by a wide variety of conditions including glossitis, angioedema, and black hairy tongue. Most are characterized by their color, shape, and sometimes change in function. Causes range from vitamin or mineral deficiencies to fluid accumulation, fungal infection, or more.

How tea gets made

Tea is one of the most consumed beverages in the world, and this video walks us through the process of supplying it from farms to our mugs. Workers handpick leaves, ferment them, and dry them as part of this involved operation. Follow along for a scientific understanding of the many steps it takes to produce tea and appreciate the detail and effort to create its flavor, aroma, and color.

Some faucets in regions near fracking wells run flammable water

A 2011 study found methane contamination as much as 3,000 feet away from wells, although there was no evidence of fracking chemicals in tested wells. Water with low methane concentrations is not harmful to drink, but it becomes flammable when mixed with air.

Unlike fruits, the category of 'vegetables' is a culinary term, not a scientific one

Within botany, fruits are defined as the ripened ovaries of flowering plants, and include apples, grapes, tomatoes, avocados, green beans, peppers, and almonds. In the kitchen, "vegetables" is an umbrella term that encompasses many fruits and other parts of plants, such as leaves (lettuce, kale) and roots (carrots, beets).

Here’s why you’ve never eaten a banana seed

Hank loves bananas and is worried about their future, so he did some investigating and wrote this four-minute episode of SciShow to share some kind of scary banana truths with us.

Are burritos sandwiches?

In this video, we trace the burrito's origins, explore the legal and culinary battles around its classification, and break down why this seemingly simple food raises such a complicated question.

The marvels of mucus

Mucus—otherwise known as snot or phlegm—has a gross reputation, but the substance is actually of vital importance, lining the moist surfaces of our nose, intestines, lungs, and more. It plays a constant role in keeping our tissues from drying out and acts as a line of defense, but if it gets too sticky or thick, it can cause problems. Read about the marvels of mucus here.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Poison ivy is in the same family as mangoes, cashews, and pistachios—and they all produce oily urushiol in their raw, unprocessed state—but they are typically prepared in ways to avoid causing human discomfort.

Human-to-human transmission of hantavirus remains extremely rare, so the 2026 hantavirus cruise ship outbreak doesn't mean we're facing a COVID-style pandemic risk.

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

Volcanoes 'die' when their supply of magma runs out, if they are shifted away from their underlying magma reservoir, or if they get clogged by collapsing or their magma cooling back into rock.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

Coral reefs get their colors from zooxanthellae—microorganisms that line corals' digestive tracts and provide them with sugars in exchange for a home within this protective tissue.

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

All rainbows are 'raincircles' caused by water droplets separating white sunlight into a spectrum of colors, but Earth's surface blocks the bottom half of the circle from our line of sight.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.