chocolate

If you’re trying to woo that special someone, instead of just bringing them a box of ordinary chocolates, how about a box of chocolates that look like you? You’re right, that would just be creepy, but chocolates formed into user-defined shapes are nonetheless now a possibility, thanks to a 3D chocolate printer developed at the University of Exeter. Read More

We’ve seen the world’s first Formula 3 car running on a fuel derived from waste chocolate, and now engineers at Ford have turned to the tasty treat for inspiration to produce lighter plastic parts for Ford’s vehicles. Plastic parts have traditionally been a difficult area to save weight without sacrificing strength and durability, but by looking to the Aero chocolate bar they have produced a lighter plastic by introducing gas bubbles into the plastic as it is molded. The result is a microscopic honeycomb structure that Ford says saves weight by reducing the amount of plastic used without compromising the integrity of the part. Read More

If DNA sequencing never held much relevance for you, consider the benefits likely to flow from the recent sequencing and assembly of the chocolate tree genome. The Theobroma cacao plant is generally regarded as producing the world's finest chocolate, but is particularly vulnerable to disease and not particularly productive, and is hence shunned by risk averse growers. It is hoped the research will not only lead to hardier trees by altering the genes, but will also enable the percentages of cocoa butter, flavonoids, antioxidants, terpenoids and hormones to be regulated. The end result is likely to be smoother, more flavorsome, better smelling and even healthier chocolate. Now that's progress! Read More

Environmentally friendly vehicles conjure up thoughts of a Toyota Prius hybrid or maybe a vehicle powered by hydrogen fuel cells, but a Formula 3 racing car generally wouldn’t be the first thing to come to mind. This "WorldFirst Formula 3 car" unveiled by researchers at the University of Warwick might just change that impression - and it's eco-friendliness goes way beyond the bio diesel engine that drives it. The racer is powered by chocolate, steered by carrots, has bodywork made from potatoes and can still do 125mph around corners. Read More

Eating chocolate is one of those pleasure experiences many of us can’t live without, and for those serious choc addicts who think they've done it all, there could yet be a new frontier - chocolate that you inhale. Created by a professor at Harvard University with help from art and science college students, Le Whif began as a culinary art experiment which culminated into a marketed product that’s set for a world tour - it’s a chocolate inhaler shaped like a tube of lipstick that is breathed in for a mouth full of chocolate, with a tiny fraction of the calories. Scoffing is replaced by whiffing. Read More