Part of our “News That Matters“ Series, “Friday Update” is a weekly feature that offers brief overviews of important news that might have been overlooked in the course of a busy week. Here’s what you may have missed in the period February 3 through February 7, 2025.
@DEADLINE
IT’S NOT A NORMAL RESPIRATORY VIRUS SEASON, BUT WHAT IS?
The flu is peaking twice in the current flu season. It already peaked once in early January and it is now peaking again in February. Meanwhile, it’s the mildest SARS-CoV-2, or Covid, winter since the start of the pandemic in early 2020.
HOW TO COOK THE PERFECT BOILED EGG
A colleague came to Ernesto Di Maio, a materials scientist in Naples, Italy, and an expert in plastic foams, with a suggestion, Dr. Di Maio took heed. And what was the suggestion: “You should do something cooler,” which Di Maio interpreted it as cooking the boiled egg. While this sounds simple, it is – at least for anyone who knows his way around the kitchen – a daunting task. The yolk and the egg white, or albumen, have different chemical compositions, which in turn call for different heating temperatures.
In the research paper, which was published on Thursday in Communications Engineering, Di Maio explains how the impossible was possible.
“We find that it is possible to cook albumen and yolk at two temperatures without separation by using periodic boundary conditions in the energy transport problem,” he explains. “Through mathematical modeling and subsequent simulation, we are able to design the novel cooking method, namely periodic cooking. Comparison with established egg cooking procedures through a plethora of characterization techniques, including Sensory Analysis, Texture Profile Analysis and FT-IR spectroscopy, confirms the different cooking extents and the different variations in protein denaturation with the novel approach. The method not only optimizes egg texture and nutrients, but also holds promise for innovative culinary applications and materials treatment.”
“Due to the fact that albumen and yolk have two very different composition they require two different temperatures for optimal cooking, namely around 85 ° C (185° F) for albumen and around 65 ° C (149° F) for yolk..”
The researchers’ new method, derived with the help of fluid dynamics software, calls for alternating the egg between boiling and lukewarm water: The egg gets two minutes in 212° F (100° C) water, followed by two minutes at 86° F * ( degrees, with the cycle repeated eight times. Dr. Di Maio explained that the average temperature of the two immersions, 150 degrees, is ideal for the yolk, while the hotter bath is sufficient to cook the albumen.
If you follow the new method, Dr. Di Maio guarantees that you will have “a well-cooked albumen without wasting the yolk.” If not, next time you’re in Naples, head to his lab at the University of Naples Federico II, and enquire therein.
@BRIEFLY NOTED
Mommy, What’s a Conglomerate ?
Honeywell International, one of the country’s last great large industrial conglomerates, said it plans to separate its aerospace division from its automation business. It will also move ahead with plans to spin off its advanced-materials unit, following in the path of AT&T, GE and others, The company was an early entrant in the computing and thermostat industries, among others. While the company was founded in 1885, the name “Honeywell” goes back to 1906 when Mark Honeywell founded the Honeywell Heating Specialty Company in Wabash, Indiana, after inventing the mercury seal generator.
Santorini Shaken Up
A 5.2-magnitude earthquake was the most powerful tremor to register on Santorini since the first of an estimated 7,700 temblors were registered last week. A state of emergency was declared and it is estimated that 12,000 people – both residents and tourists – and left the island.
Canada Fires Musk’s SpaceEdge
One of Elon Musk’s companies is about to lose a $68 million deal because of President Trump’s trade tariffs. Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters that the Canadian province would “tear up” its 68 million Canadian dollar ($48.5 million) Starlink contract with SpaceX. The premier is considering, he said, banning U.S. companies from provincial contracts until Trump’s tariffs are removed.
There’s a New Sheriff in DOGE Who’s Running Racists Out of Town
Marko Elez, a 25-year-old Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, staff member who is reportedly one of many staffers who has reportedly been combing through the Treasury Department’s payment systems, was forced to resign from his brand-new position after the Wall Street Journal found that an old social media account linked to him was littered with numerous posts promoting racism and eugenics.
Time to Get Out of DOGE
Ted Carstensen, the deputy administrator of what was the United States Digital Service organization that has now taken on Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, is resigning rather than accept the “Fork in the Road” buyout offer. “I write to let you know that I have decided to resign from USDS and today will be my last day,” Carstensen said in an internal memo to colleagues that was obtained by Frequent Business Traveler and The Travelist. “I am not taking the fork, but after discussions with my family and other trusted advisors I decided that it is time for me to pursue a different path.”
Don’t Cook Tonight, Call Chicken Delight
Governor Kathy Hochul ordered all live chicken markets in New York City and environs to close for a week after the detection of seven cases of avian flu, which has hit farms nationwide and resulted in the slaughter of millions of chickens who were at risk of contracting and spreading the virus. The rise of avian flu cases is the root cause of the dramatic rise in egg prices over the past year.
Jesse Sokolow, Timothy Perry, Jonathan Spira, Kurt Stolz, and Anna Breuer contributed to this issue of Friday Update.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
