Biology

"He ploughed her, and she cropped."

"Everything about woman is a riddle, and everything about woman has one solution: it is called pregnancy."

"She's quick; the child brags in her belly already."

"Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb."

"And Venus, thou, with timely seed, Which may their after-comforts breed, Inform the gentle womb; Nor let it prove a tomb."

"So Fanfare for the Makers: ... As mothers sit up late night after night Moulding a life."

"As those that feed grow full, as blossoming time That from the seedness the bare fallow brings To teeming foison, even so her plenteous womb Expresseth his full tilth and husbandry."

"Pregnancy is the temporary deformation of the body of the individual for the sake of the species. Moreover, childbirth hurts. And it isn't good for you. Three thousand years ago, women giving birth 'naturally' had no need to pretend that pregnancy was a real trip, some mystical orgasm (that far-away look). The Bible said it: pain and travail. The glamour was unnecessary: women had no choice. They didn't dare squawk. But at least they could scream as loudly as they wanted during their labour pains. And after it was over, even during it, they were admired in a limited way for their bravery; their valour was measured by how many children (sons) they could endure bringing into the world."

"... the story of pregnancy is best recounted in s. The first trimester is characterised by and . The second trimester is characterised by a large stomach and a feeling of well-being. In the third trimester you may experience bloating around the face, , , , chronic , , , forgetfulness, fatigue, feelings of apprehension about the birth and a longing for pregnancy to be over."

"A ship under sail and a big-bellied woman, are the handsomest two things that can be seen common."

"Eric Johnston, an attorney who helped draft the Alabama bill, thinks a man and a woman can have sex and go straight to a clinic to determine if she's pregnant. First off, you've gotta give her six minutes to clench her way to a toilet; otherwise she's gonna get a UTI and ruin an exam table. Secondly, that isn’t how it works...It's still hard to know if you're pregnant at six weeks. You might have no symptoms, or if you do, they’re symptoms like fatigue or bloating and gas. On the other hand, it does explain P.F. Chang's new motto: 'Maybe it's not us; maybe you're pregnant!'"

"Each twinge, each murmur of slight pain, ripples of sloughed-off matter, swellings and diminishings of tissue, the droolings of the flesh, these are signs, these are the things I need to know about. Each month I watch for blood, fearfully, for when it comes it means failure. I have failed once again to fulfill the expectations of others, which have become my own."

"So, this is my belly. I am twenty weeks. And I have the MTV awards coming up. And as you can see, little plum plum is ready for the world to know that he or she is here. I think I'm gonna have to just throw in the towel and if you can see that I’m pregnant, I just have to own it. So I maybe...Well, my baby maybe debuting itself on the awards. I'm going to be a mommy."

"Our mothers' wombs the tiring-houses be, Where we are dressed for this short comedy."

"I was supposed to do Coachella the year prior but I got pregnant unexpectedly. And it ended up being twins, which was even more of a surprise. My body went through more than I could. I was 218 pounds the day I gave birth. I had an extremely difficult pregnancy, high blood pressure. I developed toxemia, preeclampsia, and in the room, one of the baby's heartbeats paused a few times so I had to get an emergency c-section."

"The bearing of a child takes nine months, no matter how many women are assigned."

"Motherhood is never honored by excessive talk about the heroics of pregnancy."

"Let me then say it bluntly: Pregnancy is barbaric. I do not believe, as many women are now saying, that the reason pregnancy is viewed as not beautiful is due strictly to cultural perversion. The child’s first response, 'What's wrong with that Fat Lady?'; the husband's guilty waning of sexual desire; the woman's tears in front of the mirror at eight months – are all gut reactions, not to be dismissed as cultural habits."

"There was a time when doctors recommended alcohol to pregnant women for relaxation and pain relief, or even prescribed it intravenously as a tocolytic — meaning it stopped premature labor. One doctor who trained me spoke of a 1960s prenatal ward full of intoxicated women "swearing like sailors." Things began to change in 1973, when fetal alcohol syndrome, or F.A.S., was formally recognized after a seminal article was published in The Lancet, a medical journal. F.A.S. is a constellation of findings that includes changes in growth, distinctive facial features and a negative impact on the developing brain. We now know that alcohol is a teratogen, meaning it can cause birth defects. With that knowledge, the pendulum swung hard. In 1988, Congress passed the Alcoholic Beverage Labeling Act, which would add the well-known "women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects" label to alcoholic beverages for sale or distribution in the United States. (A warning about drinking and driving was also added.) Many people unfortunately took this as an opportunity to police pregnant women in public."

"The shamans are forever yacking about their snake-oil "miracles." I prefer the Real McCoy—a pregnant woman."

"Pregnancy seemed like a tremendous abdication of control. Something growing inside you which would eventually usurp your life."

"I found that being pregnant was different from how I thought it would be...It shares a lot in common with writing in a way. You have an imaginary version of yourself pregnant, and an imaginary baby, an imaginary idea of yourself as a mother."

"In the dark womb where I began My mother's life made me a man. Through all the months of human birth Her beauty fed my common earth. I cannot see, nor breathe, nor stir, But through the death of some of her."

"The question is not 'Can a man do it?' It's 'If a man does have a successful pregnancy, can he survive it?'"

"They did not understand how my world had shrunk. They couldn't see that the bigger I got, the smaller I became, and they didn't understand that once the baby came, I would be gone!"

"I dreamed of you for the first time the other night. You were swaddled in a blanket and floating. Your hair was dark brown before it curled and turned blonde, just like your father's. I brought my head down to my clavicle and nuzzled you, melting a little. I told you, or did you tell me that it wasn't time yet? We are waiting for you, wondering who you will be. I've made a habit of Googling strange changes in my body in the off chance they might be connected to your existence. Too much saliva, bleeding gums, muscle pains in the lower abdomen. Every time, no matter how seemingly random, all of these symptoms are correct, connected to the making of you. I'm reminded my body is marching onward without any help from me. There is a quietness that comes with pregnancy, a humbling. I'm listening for you. I'm full of wonder. Mornings and nights, my stomach grows. It's getting colder, an election is coming. I feel you flutter underneath my belly button. I want you to see the world's potential. You feel like the world's potential. I'm driving through Manhattan, looking out the backseat window of my friend's car, studying pedestrians as they move through the city. A man crosses the street in glasses, another jogs in place, his eyes focused ahead of him. I stare at these strangers. Will that be you? I wonder. I'm in the shower, rearranging all the names I'm thinking of for you in my head. I peer down at my belly and say one of them aloud to see if it fits. Water steadily beats against my back. In that moment I can't feel it myself or the space around me. Just you. Hello, I think, is that you? My chest swells and my eyes sting with the thought that one day soon, so very soon, your presence will be real. I close my eyes and try to imagine you moving through the pixelated darkness of my mind's eye. I cannot wait to see who you will be."

"Being pregnant is an occupational hazard of being a wife."

"[P]regnant women also must take care of their bodies, not avoiding exercise nor adopting a low diet; this it is easy for the lawgiver to secure by ordering them to make a journey daily for the due worship of the deities whose office is the control of childbirth. As regards the mind, however, on the contrary it suits them to pass the time more indolently than as regards their bodies; for children before birth are evidently affected by the mother just as growing plants are by the earth."

"The baby is coming in three weeks. I feel anxious. These last three weeks are my last weeks responsible for myself. So I'm trying my best to take care of my child like myself and enjoy my freedom I guess for the last three weeks. This is going to be nothing in comparison to having a child."

"Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth."

": Wilt dine with me, Apemantus? : No, I eat not lords. : An thou shouldst, thou'dst anger ladies. : O, they eat lords. So they come by great bellies. : That's a lascivious apprehension. : So thou apprehend'st it, take it for thy labour."

"And since a man can't make one He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one."

"It's all very well for a man. He doesn't have to go through this sort of thing, and he knows he never will have to. How can he understand? He may mean as well as a saint, but he's always on the outside. He can never know what it's like, even in a normal way — so what sort of an idea can he have of this? Of how it feels to lie awake at night with the humiliating knowledge that one is simply being used? — As if one were not a person at all, but just a kind of mechanism, a sort of incubator."

"You become like a vampire when you're pregnant: your senses are so sensitive and your emotions are so heightened – that helps with performance because you really feel things. Any stories about something happening to little girls killed me. Put it this way: I did not find Inside Out uplifting."

"I begin to love this little creature, and to anticipate his birth as a fresh twist to a knot which I do not wish to untie."

"The is simply mixed with cooked, dehulled soybeans; the continues its growth without the... spores. ...however, [it] generally has a lightly weaker mycelium and the incubation time is a little longer than... sporulated methods. And... there are always some unwanted bacteria in the original tempeh. If you are careless and/or the humidity is high, their numbers will increase with each generation until eventually they prevail, preventing the formation of good tempeh. However, by being clean and careful, we have had no trouble in keeping this starter going for more than 12 generations..."

"[T]he French Academy of Sciences in 1779 had posted a prize of one kilogram of gold for a solution of the mystery of fermentation. Unfortunately, the offer had to be withdrawn in 1793... but Cagniard-Latour's inquisitive spirit was undaunted by the cancellation... He described the features of yeast cells, classified them as plants, observed the process of budding and noted the differences in shape between wine- and beer-yeasts. He also found the multiplication of the cells required nitrogenous material in addition to fermentable carbohydrate. ...Unfortunately, however, he reverted to his research interest in physics."

", or “fermented soybean paste,”... is an all-purpose high-protein seasoning, which has no counterpart among Western foods or seasonings. Made from soybeans, rice or barley, and salt... [i]t comes in a wide range of warm, earthy colors... Each miso has its own distinctive flavor and aroma... Miso’s range of flavors and colors, textures and aromas, is at least as varied as that of the world’s fine wines or cheeses."

"Undesirable acid-forming bacteria... capable of forming substances that impart to milk an offensive odor and a disagreeable taste not infrequently appear instead of the desirable group. Instead of producing from the sugar of milk large quantities of lactic acid, these types generate other acids, such as acetic and formic, which impart a sharp taste to the milk. Besides the acids the bacteria of this group form gases from the sugar of the milk. Some produce small amounts of gas; others so much that the curd will be spongy and will float on the surface of the whey. The fermentation caused by them is often called a "gassy fermentation" and is dreaded by butter and cheese makers since the gas is indicative of bad flavors... Gas may also be produced in other types of fermentations... This class of bacteria enters the milk with the dust, dirt, and manure, in which materials they are especially abundant. No spores are formed; hence they are easily killed by heating the milk. They grow both in the presence and in the absence of free oxygen. High temperatures favor their growth, most rapid development taking place at 100° to 103° F. ...The normal souring of milk is due to a mixture of these two groups [Bacillus lactis acidi and the undesirable acid-forms] of bacteria. The relative proportions existing between the two in any sample of milk is dependent on a number of factors, most important of which is the degree of cleanliness..."

"If milk is produced under clean conditions, it is not likely to have a disagreeable odor or taste at any time, even when it is sour; rather the taste is agreeable like that of good butter milk. The curd is perfectly homogeneous, showing no holes or rents, due to the development of gas, and there is but little tendency for the whey to be expressed from the curd. This type of fermentation is largely produced by the group of bacteria to which has been given the name, Bacillus lactis acidi. The main by-product of this group of bacteria is ; small amounts of and alcohol, with traces of other compounds, are also formed. The agreeable odor and to some extent the flavor of milk fermented by these bacteria is due to other by-products than lactic acid, for this has no odor and only a sour taste. The acid fermentation of milk is often called the . In reality only the fermentation produced by the desirable group in which lactic acid is the most evident by-product should be thus called."

"Basically, the preparation method of soy sauce koji involves washing and soaking the rice grains overnight, steaming the well-drained soaked rice for about 60 minutes, rapidly cooling and breaking the lumps of rice, mixing uniformly the ash and starter, distributing in trays and incubating in a special room for about 5 days with in-between stirring of the mixture on the second day and the third day. The molded rice is thoroughly dried, packaged, and stored in cold room with low humidity. Strict observation of aseptic conditions is required at every step of the preparation."

"Koji is a culture prepared by growing... '... mold on cooked grains and/or soybeans in a warm, humid place. Koji serves as a source of enzymes that break down (or hydrolyze / digest / split) natural plant constituents into simpler compounds when making , , , , and other fermented foods. Its fragrant white... mycelium... has a delightful aroma resembling that of mushrooms. ...Koji is written with the exact same character in China and Japan. ...In China this character is romanized as qu... Koji was invented in China at least three centuries before the Christian era."

"The present status of surgery depends, primarily, upon the efforts of chemists, especially those interested in wine and beer production, to determine why milk turns sour, grape juice becomes wine, wine vinegar, and vinegar "a foul, insipid fluid," without the addition of any chemical reagent. The difficulty in explaining this change was due to the fact that no chemical formula could be evolved which fully represented the equation. It was easy to write a formula that expressed in definite terms the change that had resulted in a given case, but it was impossible to explain what had set the process in motion. Why was it that milk would change from sweet to sour, showing that the milk sugar it contained had become lactic acid, while a solution of pure milk sugar in pure water absolutely refused to undergo the same process? It became evident that there was something else inherent to the fermenting process that set it in motion. ... The problem was gradually clearing up as far back as Von Helmont... who first showed that the gas eliminated during fermentation was different from the air and identical with that formed by the combustion of charcoal and the calcination of limestone. ... Stahl... was the first to discover that vinous fermentation and putrefaction belong to the same class of phenomena... Leuwenhoek... in 1680 found, with the imperfect microscopes in use at that time, that yeast consisted of minute globular or ovoid particles... It took until 1836 for Schwann and Caignard-Latour, acting independently of one another, to prove that Leuwenhoek's globules were membranous bags, exhibiting the characteristics of vegetable cells and increasing and multiplying rapidly in the same way when brought under proper conditions. It had already been recognized that the yeast increased in vinous fermentation, and therefore it was natural that they should conclude that yeast was a plant, and that as it grew it in some unexplained way set up the chemical change. ... Schroeder and Von Dusch (1854) published the fact that a cotton plug prevented the something in the air that set fermentation and putrefaction in motion from coming in contact with the solutions or solids that otherwise would become proper media for the setting up of the processes. In 1860, and the next few succeeding years, Pasteur settled the whole question by his masterly review of the field, and his own remarkable series of experiments. Following this came Lister's appreciation of the results of these experiments in their application to surgery..."

"If a number of flasks be charged with a clear nutrient solution, of a kind favourable to the growth of yeast and containing a fermentable sugar, and each of them be inoculated with a trace of a pure culture of different yeasts, such as are used in brewing, distillery work, vinification, &c., the cultures being then kept at room temperature for a couple of days, it will be found that cell reproduction and fermentation—manifested by the appearance of turbidity and gas bubbles—will occur in all. It will thereafter soon be possible to separate the flasks into two groups, according to the appearance presented. In the one group the yeast crop developed from the sowing will remain almost entirely within the liquid throughout the entire period of fermentation, and mostly at the bottom even from the start. Yeasts of this kind are termed bottom yeasts, and excite bottom-fermentation, the yeast crop being sedimental. In the other group the fermentation is very brisk and attended with the formation of large quantities of froth (head); and in the earlier stages a larger or smaller number of the new cells are raised to the surface by the ascending bubbles of gas, and remain there—provided the vessel be high enough to prevent frothing over—until fermentation is terminated and the froth breaks up, whereupon they sink down to the bottom of the liquid and increase the sedimental deposit. This kind of fermentation is termed top-fermentation, and the yeasts producing it are called top-fermentation yeasts. Typical examples of bottom-fermentation yeasts are afforded by the Munich lager-beer yeasts."

"is a rich, nutrient-dense living water that's fermented from sprouted grains or seeds. ...rejuvelac not only costs pennies on the dollar but ranks in superiority in terms of probiotic quality and quantity. ...It takes about five days to make and is suprisingly easy ...The seeds or grains must be raw or they will not sprout. ...You can use rejuvelac in place of any recipe calling for water. ...Rejuvelac is also a [DIY] starter used in fermented creams, yogurts and cheeses [to include those made from nuts and seeds]. Stir in some juice, honey, and ice cubes for a delicious beverage. ...soak ...seeds or grains ...covered in water for eight hours or overnight. Buckwheat or smaller seeds, can take as little as two hours. ...Drain off the water. Give the grains a good rinse... twice a day (or more)... cover the sprouts with a breathable cloth. ...out of direct sunlight. Tilt the jar... and let the water drain out. ...After the berries have sprouted, give them a final rinse and fill... with water... approximately 4 to 6 times more water than sprouts. ...Let it sit thirty-six to forty eight hours [covered with a breathable cloth]. Less time... if the weather is warm... more if... cool. ...A slightly sour and fizzy taste should be the result. (If it tastes like it's gone bad, discard... you can water the plants with it—and begin again.)"

"[K]oji [is] the Japanese manifestation of qu, also traditionally a mixed culture but today typically known as a single a strain of fungus, '. Before I started growing koji, I would never have believed it possible to fall in love with a mold. ...Koji itself is not generally eaten as a food (although it is delicious). Koji is the first step toward many elaborately processed foods and beverages. ...try it at least once using a starter culture so you can experience the unique aroma of fresh growing koji, because recognizing that unique smell is the most straightforward way you have to gauge whether you have the right mold growing if you try starting koji spontaneously using corn husks."

"Gay-Lussac found that food treated by Appert's method was quite stable, but as soon as it was exposed to air, fermentation and/or putrefaction set in. Further experiments enabled Gay-Lussac to prove that air was the causative agent, and that if liquid foods were actually boiled, and then exposed to air, then the onset of the two processes was delayed. He also found that if brewer's yeast was heated, it was incapable of initiating fermentations."

"Searching investigations into the chemical activity of the different species of acetic acid bacteria would be not only opportune in the interests of science, but also highly important to the practice of the vinegar industry. In this business the employment of selected pure culture ferments is not yet regarded as a fundamental rule, everything being still left to the mercy of chance. ...there are two different methods of making vinegar. In one of them wine forms the raw material, this method being known as the Orleans process... There (as elsewhere) the work is still performed in the same manner as it was centuries ago as follows:—A number of oaken casks, each of a capacity of some 55 gallons, are arranged in rows in a chamber maintained at a constant temperature of 18° to 22° C [64° to 71° F]. In the upper part of the front end (head) of each cask a circular aperture (a few cm in width) is provided, through which the cask can be filled or emptied, and which is generally kept closed, whilst near it is a very small hole (vent) always left open for the admission of air. In normal work each cask is about half full. Before setting a new cask in work, it is scalded out several times with steam or hot water, in order to extract the sap from the wood, and is then "soured" by impregnating it with good, boiling-hot vinegar. About 1 hl. (22 gallons) of good, clear vinegar and 2 l. (0.44 gallons) of wine are then placed in the cask, another 3 l. of wine being added at the end of eight days, 4 to 5 l. more after the lapse of another week, and so on until the cask contains 180-200 l. (40 to 44 gallons). Then, for the first time, vinegar is drawn from the cask, and in such quantity that about 22 gallons are left behind in the vessel. From that time the cask "mother" is in continuous use, 10 litres (2.2 gallons) of vinegar being withdrawn every week and replaced by an equal quantity of wine. The "mother" casks may remain in work during six or eight years without interruption, but at the end of this period they will contain such a considerable accumulation of deposited yeast, tarter and , as to necessitate their being emptied and cleansed. A skin, known as vinegar flowers or mother of vinegar, and composed of acetic acid bacteria, develops on the surface of the liquid, and the manner and luxuriance of its growth enables the operator to judge the progress of the fermentation. However, at the outset the growth proceeds very slowly, since the wine employed mostly contains but very few of these bacteria. Consequently an opportunity is afforded for the development of rapid-growing injurious organisms, chiefly certain budding fungi, which consume the acetic acid. The aerobic "vinegar eels" also make their appearance."

"During ... a characteristic fermentative yeast flora develops in the liquid... When the sugar is used up and the pH has dropped because of lactic acid production by the lactic acid bacteria, a secondary, oxidative yeast flora develops on the surface of the liquid in the form of a thick, folded layer of yeast."

"Koji usually serves as the basis of secondary fermentation, in which its s help to (break down or digest or split) basic nutrients. ... ...digests carbohydrates ... breaks down proteins, and ... ...digests lipids (fats). Rice... barley... and soybean koji are used to make three different types of . Koji for Japanese is made from a mixture of roasted wheat and defatted soybean meal; this koji is dark-green in color. Whole soybean koji is used to make traditional Chinese soy sauce and fermented black soy beans (also known as... ...etc.). Rice koji is used to make Japanese ... and ... Koji is to sake as is to beer. Each saccharifies the starch... so that... sugars can be fermented to alcohol by yeasts."