Newton's Apple; No. 1301

<v Host>This is Newton's Apple Show, 1301. Length, twenty six fifty four from KTCA-TV St. Paul, Minneapolis. <v Peggy Knapp>Coming up on Newton's apple, we're slapping on the boards and hitting the water, showing off with baby magic, tasting the latest in low fat cuisine. Don't do this at home. We're teaming up for Adventures in Science, next on Newton's Apple. <v Host>Newton's apple is made possible by a grant from 3M and its employees. Creative people who put science to work for you, 3M innovation. <v David Heil>Hi, I'm David Heil, and welcome to a whole-

<v Peggy Knapp>Welcome to a really new season of example. Hi, David, I'm Peggy Knapp and we're all in for a lot of surprises this year. <v Dave Huddleston>We definitely are, Hi Peggy, Hi Dave. This season of Newton's Apple. You're going to see new faces like mine. I'm Dave Huddleston. <v Brian Hackney>And I'm Brian Hackney. Of course, there's going to be some familiar things as well. We'll be getting into things that you don't usually get into, will be seeing things that you usually don't see. [Yelling] <v Brian Hackney>Be careful with that thing <v SuChin Pak>and we'll go places you can't normally go. Hi, I'm SuChin Pak and we are all ready to answer all your questions on every show. <v David Heil>Oh, and here's one now. This one's from Lisa Caia who writes, My boyfriend Scott says water skiers stay up because skis float. I say he's wrong, but how do they do it? <v Peggy Knapp>Oh, I love that one. And of course, we'll use a very scientific method to determine which of us we'll explore that exciting and dangerous idea. Short straw wins. All right. Go ahead. <v Dave Huddleston>I'm gonna get it, I got it I got it I got it. <v SuChin Pak>Yes I love this game. I'm going waterskiing, See ya! <v Peggy Knapp>Oh man, she gets all the lot.

<v SuChin Pak>I've definitely come to the right place to find out how water skiers stay on top of the water. I met the Tommy Bartlett ski skiing stage show here on the Wisconsin Dells. You have an amazing show here. They do all kinds of flips. They do a 10 person pyramid. And they even go flying over ramps. Boy, would I love to try that. Let me tell you a little secret. I have no idea how these clunky boards work. I've never even water skied in my entire life. I know. I know. I'll figure it out. I guess the best way to learn is just to hit it. <v SuChin Pak>I didn't really mean hit it. <v SuChin Pak>All right, I admit it, I'm going to need some help. <v SuChin Pak>Oh, just when you need a rocket scientist, here comes Amy Elving, professor of aerospace engineering and Fluid Mechanics. <v SuChin Pak>Perfect landing! Boy, am I glad to see you, Amy, Who's right, Scott or Lisa do waterskiers stay on top of the water because they float or not? <v Amy Erving>Well, let's see. Let's put the ski down.

<v SuChin Pak>OK,. <v Amy Erving>See what it does on it's own. <v SuChin Pak>It flipped. <v Amy Erving>Right, but when you're water skiing, you need to stand on top of the skis. So let's try that. <v SuChin Pak>OK, let me get it on. I can already feel it. Here we go. It doesn't float. <v SuChin Pak>Way to go, Lisa. Yes, but if water skiers don't stay up because their skis float, then how do they stay up? Amy said go fly a kite. <v SuChin Pak>Amy, I don't know if we have time for fun and games. I mean, I got to figure this thing out. Why are we flying a kite? <v Amy Erving>Well, it turns out the way a kite stays up is the same way that you stay up on water skis <v SuChin Pak>a water ski and a kite. Link the similarity. <v Amy Erving>Well, in both cases, you need to create a force upwards on yourself or on the kite that overcomes the weight. <v SuChin Pak>I get it. Gravity is pulling down on the kite just like it is on the water skier. <v SuChin Pak>Cool, now, how does that work there? <v Amy Erving>Ok, well, it turns out that the kite, It's pushing the air out of the way and that is making a force on the kite. <v SuChin Pak>The boat pulls a kite through the air, the air pushes on the kite, the kite pushes back or deflects the air, generating the force that keeps it up.

<v SuChin Pak>So, the faster you go, the higher the kite fly. <v Amy Erving>That's right. There's more air pushing out of the way. <v SuChin Pak>Now, I think I understand how the kite works up in the air, but on water skis, you're dealing with water. <v Amy Erving>Well, the principle is exactly the same. The way that you create the force is by pushing the water out of the way. <v SuChin Pak>Pushing the water out of the way, that's the part I don't get. <v Amy Erving>OK, well, to see that, let's do a little demonstration. So let's take this paddle and pretend that the paddle is a water ski. <v SuChin Pak>All right. <v Amy Erving>All right. Now, let's put it in the water and hold it pretty close to flat just so it's just barely in the water. Now, let's make it harder. Let's bend the water some more. So pull up on your left hand and keep that paddle in the water. Keep it down. Keep it down. <v SuChin Pak>It's really hard. <v Amy Erving>So that's getting really hard, right? <v SuChin Pak>The harder I push down on the paddle, the more the water wants to push up on the paddle. <v Amy Erving>That's right. Because when you're when you're pushing down on the paddle, you're making the water bend more and more-.

<v SuChin Pak>Hey, wait a minute, that's Newton's third law. For every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction. So this is how water skiers stay on top of the water. So I think I understand what's going on here. <v Amy Erving>OK. <v SuChin Pak>The speed of the boat was in the water to be flexed under the water skier. <v SuChin Pak>Right. And the force of that pushes Andrew up on top of the water. He doesn't sink, so the force actually counterbalances the weight of Andrew, <v Amy Erving>That's right. <v SuChin Pak>Now, what would happen if the boat suddenly stopped? <v Amy Erving>Ok if the boat stops, there's no more water to be deflected by Andrew and Andrew goes into the water because of his weight. <v SuChin Pak>So, look, there's no force to actually keep him on top of the water. <v Amy Erving>That's right. <v SuChin Pak>Poor Andrew. Are you OK? <v SuChin Pak>It's cold. <v SuChin Pak>So how fast you need to go to stay on top of the water? Depends on how much water you're deflecting. And that depends on the size of your skis. <v SuChin Pak>Blake has two very large skis. How does this affect how you see on top of the water?

<v Amy Erving>OK, the larger the ski, the bigger the area here. The more water gets deflected, and the more water deflected, the larger the force upwards. <v SuChin Pak>OK, so how about this one here? <v Amy Erving>OK, that's a smaller ski. It's shorter, and narrower so it doesn't deflect water as much. So you have to be going faster to get the same upward force. <v SuChin Pak>All right. And these tiny ones, you definitely need to move pretty fast to keep up. <v SuChin Pak>Even faster. That's right. <v SuChin Pak>Now Andrew's barefoot. Can you ski barefoot? <v Amy Erving>You can ski barefoot if you're going really fast. The same principle. The smaller the area, the faster you have to go. <v SuChin Pak>With regular skis, you need to go about 15 to 20 miles per hour. But barefooters have to go more than 30 miles per hour in order to stay up. How about those huge pyramids? How do they stay on top of the water with all that weight? <v Amy Erving>That's right. They have extra weight, so they need to generate extra force. And these are pyramid skis. You can see that they're bigger. And because they have more area, they can deflect more water and generate the force you need to stay up. <v SuChin Pak>So if I'm going to learn how to ski, I better get some pretty big skis. <v Amy Erving>Good idea. [Music plays]. <v SuChin Pak>So I understand the science behind watersking, Andrew is going to give me a few pointers and who knows, maybe I'll even be able to try to jump.

<v Andrew>Have your arms straight. Your, let the boat do the work. Let the boat get you out of the water. <v SuChin Pak>Wait, wait, wait, wait before we start. All right. How am I supposed to be like this? Right. <v Andrew>Correct. <v SuChin Pak>Like this. <v Andrew>A little more bent. <v SuChin Pak>My knees more bent? <v Andrew>Yep, little bit. <v SuChin Pak>You think I can do it? <v Andrew>Sure. 100% <v SuChin Pak>All right. Cool, OK. I'm ready. Hit it. <v SuChin Pak>Even though I understand the science keeping my balance as I get up on skis, it's pretty hard. OK, arms straight, knees bent. OK, hang on, OK. keep you balance Oh, no. There I'm up. Now hold that thought because it doesn't last very long. That still counts, doesn't it? <v SuChin Pak>Did you see that? Can you believe it? I'm an official water skier. I have to admit. I was pretty amazing out there. <v Andrew>Very impressive.

<v SuChin Pak>All right. Maybe amazing describes these skiers better than it does me. In fact, I think I'll leave all that fancy stuff to the experts. So. Andrew, you're really going to jump over that huge ramp? <v Andrew>Yeah. <v SuChin Pak>Well, good luck. <v Andrew>Thank you. <v SuChin Pak>I suppose even on a jump, the science is still the same. Andrew is going to hit the water with a lot of force and the water will push back with an equal force. So he should be able to stay on top of the water. Wow, Newton's third law comes through again. So there's your answer, waterskiers stay up thanks to a combination of speed and water deflection. So you two quit all that fighting. We've got more Newton's apple in a moment. <v SuChin Pak>Jo hit it. [music plays] <v Host>How many tastebuds do you have in your mouth?

<v Guest>Well. Fourteen million, <v Guest>Maybe six. <v Guest>A lot <v Host>The tasty number?, over 9000. And just in case you lose some, they replace themselves about every 10 days. <v SuChin Pak>Your body has a lot of ways of protecting itself. Reflexes happen to be one of them. And I happen to have some pretty good reflexes. But Susan Urijah from Union City, California, wants to know about her reflexes. Thank you. She writes, Why does a doctor test my reflexes when I have a checkup? Dr. Millie Santiago of children's health care minneapolis' tests Peggy Knapp's reflexes with the hammer test. <v Peggy Knapp>Oh, that feels so weird. <v Peggy Knapp>Oh, God, that was a good one. Now, what exactly are you checking when you check someone's reflexes? <v Dr. Millie Santiago>Well, we check reflexes to check the health of the nervous system to make sure that everything's kind of wired together. <v Peggy Knapp>What exactly is a reflex? <v Dr. Millie Santiago>A reflex is an involuntary response to an outside stimulus. Like the hammer, my hand. <v Peggy Knapp>That wasn't very nice, what is that?

<v Dr. Millie Santiago>That's a blinking reflex. <v Peggy Knapp>Oh, major blink is a reflex. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>That's right. That's right. Or if you pull your hand away from a hot stove, it's kind of a withdrawal reflex. <v Peggy Knapp>And those are all involuntary. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>That's right. <v Peggy Knapp>Your body just does them. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>That's right. Outside stimulus, an involuntary action. <v Peggy Knapp>How exactly how does this one work? <v Dr. Millie Santiago>OK, well, I have a little model here. I'll show this, put this over your knee. All right. Now, this is a model of your kneecap and you have a tendon here that's connected to a muscle in your thigh. And the muscle has stretch receptors,. <v Peggy Knapp>Stretch receptors <v Dr. Millie Santiago>Stretch receptors. Now, when I hit the tendon at this point, the muscle in your thigh gets the message via the stretch receptors to contract. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>That's right. And it kicks the leg out. <v Peggy Knapp>It kicks the leg out. So it's actually the thigh muscle up here that's pulling the leg up. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>That's right. <v Peggy Knapp>Oh, I know some people, when you hit them in the knee like that, they don't have that kick action. What happens then? I mean, is that something to worry about? <v Dr. Millie Santiago>Well, not necessarily. I mean, that could represent damage to a nerve, but more often than not, it's just that people have different levels of response <v Peggy Knapp>Now do all of my reflexes work like this when the blink reflex, the pulling away from heat, are they all the same?

<v Dr. Millie Santiago>Yes and no. <v Peggy Knapp>OK, that's yeah. That's a good answer. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>Yes. No, in the fact that some of them are a little bit more complicated, but yes in that they all involve the nervous system. Let me show you. <v Peggy Knapp>OK. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>Now over here, the nervous system is composed of two parts. So we have the central nervous system, which is the spinal cord. And the brain and then you have the peripheral nervous system, which is the nerves that go out to the extremities and it's like a major communication system of a major corporation. Think of the brain as the CEO of the BODY corporation, processing and reacting to stimuli of all kinds, and your spinal cord is like a well-trained receptionist, fully capable of transmitting certain complex instructions to the appropriate muscles without bothering the boss. <v "BODY receptionist">Ease up on the deltoids. Give me more pecs. Rectus abdominous, who told you to flex? Back off, Rozerious. Standby trapezius.Gluteus maximus and beauteous medius <v Dr. Millie Santiago>So when you get hit with a little hammer, your spinal cord receives a message from a stretch receptor in your knee.

<v "BODY receptionist">Now what. <v "BODY strech receptor">There's something out there, Get Mr. Big quick. <v "BODY receptionist">The reflex test? Doctors like I don't already have enough to do. Stand by stretch. It's a no brainer. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>And so it's the spinal cord that calls for the proper response from the muscle when your thigh, <v "BODY receptionist">Yo thigh muscle. Retract, Retract. Retract. <v Peggy Knapp>Now, the receptionist not only took the call from my knee, but she made all sorts of executive decisions. She didn't talk to the CEO. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>That's right. The brain was out of the loop on this one. She relegated that responsibility to other people in the organization. <v Peggy Knapp>So the the brain, the conscious brain is out of the reflex. You don't have to think about your reflexes. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>You don't have to. But you can if you want to. Like what? Like your blinking reflex. You can decide not to blink.

<v Peggy Knapp>Well, yeah, like when I put in my contact. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>That's right. Or you can decide not to move your hand away from a hot surface. <v Peggy Knapp>Like when you carry a pie to the counter. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>That's right. You don't want to drop it. <v Peggy Knapp>Right. Exactly. So the brain could get involved in the reflexes, but it doesn't have to. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>Right. And in fact, there was a time in your life when the brain was less involved in the reflexes. <v Peggy Knapp>When. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>Like when you were a baby. <v Peggy Knapp>Oh, it's babyland. Look at all these babies and parents. Thank you for bringing your babies in. What are we going to do with all these babies? <v Dr. Millie Santiago>Well, we're going to do some baby tricks. It's my favorite part of the newborn exam. <v Peggy Knapp>Baby tricks? <v Dr. Millie Santiago>What we're going to do is test some of the reflexes here of the newborn. <v Peggy Knapp>Now, I assume you're not going to whack her with a hammer. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>No, I'm not going to do that. But I am going to do a variety of movements and you're going to help me, OK? <v Peggy Knapp>And this tests reflexes in the same way it does adults <v Dr. Millie Santiago>That's right. And it tells me a lot about the general health of the baby and the nervous system of the baby. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>OK, everybody feel free to join in and test your baby's reflexes. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>OK, well, we have little Rachel here and we're going to start off with what's called the grasp reflex. And I'm going to ask you to take your finger and place it in Rachel's palm. <v Peggy Knapp>OK.

<v Dr. Millie Santiago>And what Rachel will do is grab your finger. <v Peggy Knapp>There she goes. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>See that. She's got a pretty strong grasp there, it looks like. <v Peggy Knapp>Yeah, it's real strong. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>OK. <v Peggy Knapp>Now that's a reflex. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>That's an involuntary response. Automatically done. <v Peggy Knapp>Why does she do that? <v Dr. Millie Santiago>Well, we think it dates back to some kind of prehuman survival behavior. She's maybe trying to grasp onto a tree, a branch, her mother, something for preservation. <v Peggy Knapp>So it's very primitive. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>It's very primitive, very protective. <v Peggy Knapp>OK, well, what else can she do? <v Dr. Millie Santiago>OK, we're going to do here something called the rooting reflex. And we're going to take the nook out of her mouth. OK, I'm going to ask you to take your finger and rub it along the side of her face. And what Rachel should do if she wants to is you automatically go towards your finger. <v Peggy Knapp>Yeah. now what's this one for? <v Dr. Millie Santiago>This allows her to seek out food when it's presented usually in the breastfed baby, the breast, when it touches the side of the face, they root towards the source of food. <v Peggy Knapp>Good strong reflex. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>She sure does. <v Peggy Knapp>Now, again, that's a very old reflex. When do we start to lose that, because I don't do that. <v Peggy Knapp>No, that's embarrassing.

<v Dr. Millie Santiago>That is a good thing. Well, usually by about three to four months of age, they start to become extinguished or less evident on the exam. <v Peggy Knapp>Why do they lose that reflex? <v Dr. Millie Santiago>It's not so much that we lose them, except as the brain develops. The cortical function kind of overshadows overrides those reflexes. <v Peggy Knapp>Oh, so the brain's got other things to think about. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>That's right. <v Peggy Knapp>OK, right. What else can she do? <v Dr. Millie Santiago>OK, now I want you to lift her up and we're going to do a reflex. That's called the stepping reflex. You're going to lift Rachel up under her arms. You're gonna try and drag her feet along the edge of the crib up there. That's a great stepping reflex. She's ready to run, <v Peggy Knapp>Oh, what's she doing there, she's launching. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>It's an involuntary response to dragging the feet across the crib. <v Peggy Knapp>Similar to walking. Is that- is she walking? <v Dr. Millie Santiago>Well, it's not really walking. It's a precursor to it. <v Peggy Knapp>OK, now what else can you do? <v Dr. Millie Santiago>I've got one last one called the Moral Reflex. What do we have to do now? This involves changing the baby's position and dropping the head a little bit. <v Peggy Knapp>Dropping. I think dropping babies she will take a trained professional here. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>Well, let's see if Rachel will cooperate. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>All right. What we do is we tend to just drop the baby's position quickly, up and out go her arms and inward,

<v Dr. Millie Santiago>We get a little cry. <v Peggy Knapp>You made her cry. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>That's good. That's part of the reflex. <v Peggy Knapp>Oh, it is. That's a good thing. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>That shows me that. <v Peggy Knapp>It's a good thing. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>That shows me a central nervous system is intact. <v Peggy Knapp>See now that seems like something that I would do as an adult if I fell or somebody dropped me out, I would startle and then grab for something and perhaps cry. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>Exactly. You still have a moral reflex, so you are still trying to save yourself, self preservation. The difference is you also have a thinking process going on, thinking about where am I going to fall, how am I going to land. <v Peggy Knapp>How much am I going to hurt when I finally do hit? <v Dr. Millie Santiago>That's right. That's right. <v Peggy Knapp>Millie thank you very much. <v Dr. Millie Santiago>My pleasure. <v Peggy Knapp>Very Interesting. Parents, thank you all for bringing your babies in. And you, darling, you passed with flying colors. <v David Heil>Is there something you're curious about then send us your science questions. Our address is Newton's Apple Box thirteen hundred one seven two East 4th Street, St. Paul, Minnesota, five five one zero one. And if you have a computer, you can send your question on email the addresses Newton's.apple@umn.edu. We look forward to getting your questions. <v Dave Huddleston>We ride escalator's like this one all the time. But what goes on underneath here? How do you get a moving staircase to move.

<v Dave Huddleston>For starters, where do the steps go when they disappear? Do they fold up, collapse or what? This will take just a second. Yeah, look at that. The stairs aren't collapsing at all. They're just shifting position sand flipping upside down. But what keeps them going? One moment, please. [Construction noises]. <v Dave Huddleston>OK, an escalator is simply a conveyor belt, like in a factory. Instead of moving objects. This conveyor belt moves steps and it's connected in two separate places. This part here is connected to the Escalator chain drive, and this will wheel is connected to a separate steel track. [Construction noises]. <v Dave Huddleston>All right, now here is a motor that pulls the chain and the chain pulls the steps and the handrail It also makes sure that they travel at the same speed. That way, your hands don't beat your feet to the top. And this is a very dangerous move going up the down escalator. Escalators are actually a lot more efficient at transporting large numbers of people than elevators. And the reason is you can move people continuously on an escalator, unlike an elevator. Does anyone know how to put this thing back together? <v Host>Welcome to this week's Science Try-its and Barb, I can feel the tension in the air today. Our players are a cotton thread, a plate of water and dish soap.

<v Host>There's the whistle. <v Host>Right at the get go. The thread gets tied for a loop and into the drink it goes, but it's staying on the surface. <v Host>And the cleanest competitor we've ever seen gets dropped right into the water. <v Host>But hold on a time out been called. Let's call them a super science breakdown. <v Host>We have a winning variation here out of the old surface tension playbook. The thread isn't floating because of its buoyancy, but because the water surface tension is holding it up. <v Host>But doesn't soap help reduce the surface tension of the water. Now, what will happen to the string? <v Host>To find out, you just have to try-it. <v Peggy Knapp>Check out this freezer. I got all these fat free foods, look at this, fat free ice cream, low fat chicken enchiladas, it just amazes me I could eat all of this food and only consume a few grams of fat. How do they do that? <v Peggy Knapp>Oh, thanks. Anyway. Anne Villinger of Winnipeg, Canada wants to know more about this. She writes to us, how do they make fat free foods? Fat free.Good question. And and Brian Hackney's working on the Utterly Delicious answer. <v Brian Hackney>[Cow Moos] Oh, Hi. Just Milking my cow. Great way to start the day, you know, get some warm milk out of my great sweetheart here. You see her picture, haven't you? It's on milk cartons everywhere. There she is. My little scoop. She's everywhere. And I love her. You know why? Because every day she gives me just wonderful milk. It's so rich and so great.

<v Felicia Bush>Wait, wait, wait. Brian, what are you doing? <v Brian Hackney>Having my daily milk. Felicia, what are you doing here? <v Brian Hackney>This is Felicia Bush. <v Felicia Bush>From the American Dietetic Association. <v Brian Hackney>What's the problem? <v Brian Hackney>You're drinking high fat milk? <v Brian Hackney>Yeah. <v Felicia Bush>I thought you were going to be on a low fat diet. <v Brian Hackney>Well, she's a low fat cow. <v Felicia Bush>No such thing as a low fat cow. <v Brian Hackney>That's not the way it works? <v Felicia Bush>No. <v Brian Hackney>Well, how do you get the fat out of it? <v Felicia Bush>Come here and I'll show you. <v Felicia Bush>Alright go head and pour in it. <v Brian Hackney>What is this thing? <v Felicia Bush>This is a centrifuge and it's going to spin inside and separate the fat from the skim milk. <v Felicia Bush>Inside there's a chamber that's spinning really fast since the skim milk is denser than the cream that spinning action forces the skim milk to the side while the cream stays in the center. <v Brian Hackney>So the skim milk is denser than cream. <v Brian Hackney>That's right. <v Felicia Bush>Now come around here, open that up a little bit more. <v Brian Hackney>Oh, OK. So what's happening?

<v Felicia Bush>OK, you got skim milk coming out there. And here you see the cream starting. <v Brian Hackney>Oh, look at that. That does look like cream. <v Felicia Bush>Yeah. <v Brian Hackney>So that's all there is to it. To get the fat out of food, you just separate the fat out. <v Felicia Bush>Well sometimes that works, but not always. <v Brian Hackney>When does it not work? <v Felicia Bush>Well, for example, something like cream cheese. If you take out the fat, you won't be happy with what you end up with. But this is fat free cream cheese. Give it a try. And what they've done is. <v Brian Hackney>Elmer's glue, it doesn't ta- That's pretty good. <v Felicia Bush>They've added a replacement for the fat in this case it is xanthan gum listed there on the label that mimics some of the properties of fat. <v Brian Hackney>Well, you probably seen xa-. You ever seen that in the ingredients? You can't read it, but, it's there. And that's what this is? <v Felicia Bush>That's what it is. It kind of has a gummy texture in it. It adds some of the texture, the creaminess that you'd miss without the fat. <v Brian Hackney>So xanthan gum kind of simulates it. <v Felicia Bush>That's right. <v Brian Hackney>You know, what is this thing with fat anyway? I mean, why do you know you just really have a craving for. Why is that? <v Felicia Bush>Well, first of all, fat really tastes good. I mean, there's no question about it. So it tastes good. It also has the sensation of creaminess or smoothness which people like. So we call that mouthfeel. And finally, it makes you feel satisfied with what you've eaten. So it makes you feel full or satiated. <v Brian Hackney>So do they just take the xanthan gum and kind of like put it in cookies?

<v Felicia Bush>No, it depends. You know, we've gotten very sophisticated with a technology now, and you can make wonderful things with Fat Replacers. Now, here's an example. <v Brian Hackney>Motor oil, they're putting it in. What is that? <v Brian Hackney>This is corn syrup. And they use this along with other starches to make up for some of the properties you miss when you take out the fat. Another example, you'd never imagine this, but prune paste. <v Brian Hackney>Prune face! Hey look shorty. <v Felicia Bush>No, no. [laughing] prune paste. <v Felicia Bush>If you have something like a chocolate product, prune paste is a really wonderful replacement for fat. <v Brian Hackney>Why does it- it doesn't taste like fat. <v Felicia Bush>No, but it has the texture when you when you pulverize it so that it feels smooth and creamy, real, it does taste good. <v Brian Hackney>And you become more regular too, which is a little side note. <v Felicia Bush>Why don't you try one of those? <v Brian Hackney>Yeah I got an idea. So we'll take a fat free cookie and compared side by side with a large- <v Felicia Bush>No, no, no, please don't. OK, because this one will always taste better. High fat will always taste better than low fat. <v Brian Hackney>Let that be a lesson to you.

<v Felicia Bush>No what you want is- put this one down. You want to try the low fat one and ask yourself, does it taste good? Do I like it? <v Brian Hackney>I'll try the nonfat one and ask myself, does it taste good? <v Brian Hackney>Oh, oh, it was really, it was really very good. I loved it very much. Yeah, it was nice. It was OK. It's fine. It's a good cookie. <v Felicia Bush>All right. <v Brian Hackney>I also heard there's a lot of fat, like in popcorn. <v Felicia Bush>No, not true. There's not fat in popcorn. But what you add to it or what you cook it in adds fat. Here, you try this one here, you've got the high fat version, I have low fat. Let's open them up and compare. Just rip the bag <v Brian Hackney>I have high fat? <v Felicia Bush>you have high fat. <v Brian Hackney>Dribble, a little fat on you. That's all right. <v Felicia Bush>See the big chunks of fat there. You compare that to the low fat version. Yeah. Obviously you're going to get a lot more fat, a lot more calories than I am. <v Brian Hackney>Well, you know, so the moral of the story is you're never going to get all the fat out of your diet <v Felicia Bush>and you don't want to because what you want to do is have a low fat diet, not a no fat diet. <v Brian Hackney>And I think that we'll never be in any danger of that. But with this kind of stuff around, we can at least reduce it.

<v Felicia Bush>You have more choices. But one thing you need to keep in mind is fat free does not mean calorie free. <v Brian Hackney>I know they're loaded with calories. That's what I've heard. Yeah, Good cookie. I could use some milk, though, sweetheart. [Cow Moos] <v Host>Newton's apple has made possible by a grant from 3M and its employees, creative people who put science to work for you, 3M innovation. If you would like a videotape or a transcript of this program, please call us toll free at1 800 588 Newton. <v Dave Huddleston>We were just tidying up the warehouse a little bit. <v Brian Hackney>Yeah, I understand there is going to be a lot of exciting changes in the weeks to come. <v SuChin Pak>David will journey to Africa on a hot air balloon safari and get a chance to meet the people of Masai Mara. <v David Heil>Yeah, but Brian got to go to Disney World and he just brought me back a T-shirt.

<v Brian Hackney>Well, you got to put out the fire on the jumbo jet. That looked exciting. <v Peggy Knapp>Oh, sure. Guys, why don't you try to survive in the jungles of Belize by eating bugs? <v David Heil>No, no, nothing about it. We did turn Suchin a human slingshot, after all, and we watched while she learns to sail on ice. So keep asking questions. <v SuChin Pak>And discovering the answers <v Brian Hackney>along with us every week. <v Peggy Knapp>That's all for now. <v Dave Huddleston>See you next time on Newton's Apple. <v Host>This is PBS.