Thursday, April 09, 2009
Man who made multigrain palatable dies at age 80.
Marvin Smur, the biologist who spent decades making multigrain food products palatable died yesterday at the age of 80.
Food made of multiple grains, termed "multigrain", first became popular in the early 00s when health-weary individuals began to tout that it had a potent ability to increase general well-being. These claims were later falsified.
Smur spent countless hours in the laboratory designing and testing new strains of the multigrain protein (PDB ID 1EUL) with the specific hope that he could one day render it biologically eatable. While supermarkets across the country already featured these so-called multiply-grained products, it was well-known that they tasted dry and had an unpleasant texture. While such multiplication-oriented-grains did initially sell quite well, sales soon slumped off in the mid-00s as consumers began to allow their overwhelming displeasure to dictate their purchases.
In late 08, Smur was finally able to elucidate the structure of of the M-x Grain Complex (part of the complex biomolecular mechanism responsible for conferring on the vittles their characteristic taste) and, in doing so, was able to directly modulate the receptor protein on the granule membrane that interacts with Tastase-3b. (It has long been known that T-3-b, or T-3ase, is the enzyme that positively activates the cytosolic Taste-Orientation Cycle (sometimes known as the Robert-Morley-Benson Cycle after its discoverers)). Smur's acquired ability to quickly and effectively model this protein complex with an undergraduate-style molecular model kit allowed other scientists to appreciate and glean from his discovery.
Smur is predeceased by his ex-wife, Linda, and his trusted life-companion, Rusty, a black border collie.
Food made of multiple grains, termed "multigrain", first became popular in the early 00s when health-weary individuals began to tout that it had a potent ability to increase general well-being. These claims were later falsified.
Smur spent countless hours in the laboratory designing and testing new strains of the multigrain protein (PDB ID 1EUL) with the specific hope that he could one day render it biologically eatable. While supermarkets across the country already featured these so-called multiply-grained products, it was well-known that they tasted dry and had an unpleasant texture. While such multiplication-oriented-grains did initially sell quite well, sales soon slumped off in the mid-00s as consumers began to allow their overwhelming displeasure to dictate their purchases.
In late 08, Smur was finally able to elucidate the structure of of the M-x Grain Complex (part of the complex biomolecular mechanism responsible for conferring on the vittles their characteristic taste) and, in doing so, was able to directly modulate the receptor protein on the granule membrane that interacts with Tastase-3b. (It has long been known that T-3-b, or T-3ase, is the enzyme that positively activates the cytosolic Taste-Orientation Cycle (sometimes known as the Robert-Morley-Benson Cycle after its discoverers)). Smur's acquired ability to quickly and effectively model this protein complex with an undergraduate-style molecular model kit allowed other scientists to appreciate and glean from his discovery.
Smur is predeceased by his ex-wife, Linda, and his trusted life-companion, Rusty, a black border collie.
