Ice Cream That Doesn't Melt, and More Amazing Discoveries
See dazzling developments spanning the world of science from archaeology to ecology to medicine.
Scientists have found a solution to sticky ice-cream hands—entirely by accident. After the 2011 tsunami damaged Japanese strawberry fields, the fruit was too unsightly to be sold whole. Pharmacy professor Tomihisa Ohta and his team at Kanazawa University thought they had a solution: They would make an extract from the strawberries—liquid polyphenol—that could be used as a new dessert topping. When they added polyphenol to cream, though, it solidified instantly, making it useless as a topping—but perfect as a binding agent. They’d inadvertently created a frozen dessert that doesn’t melt. Kanazawa ice-cream pops, which stay frozen for an hour at room temperature, are now sold throughout Japan. —Natasha Daly
For a number of vision problems, the artificial intraocular lens (IOL) above may be the solution. Also called an iris clip, the ultrathin lens is attached to the eye’s iris using a tiny incision. This eye belongs to a 70-year-old man; after a cataract surgery failed, the IOL restored his vision almost fully. —Lori Cuthbert
