There's a new fuel on the rise for cars, trucks and busses. It's not hydrogen or electricity, it's more like cooking oil. Most existing diesel engine vehicles can switch to this less polluting, renewable energy called biodiesel. It's made from non-petroleum oils, including used fryer oil like the stuff you would find in those stinky black dumpsters behind the local fast food joint. One of the big selling points is that biodiesel can be poured directly into the fuel tanks of modern diesel vehicles without any modification to the vehicle.

Biodiesel, which is made by chemically removing glycerine from vegetable oil and unlike most other fuels, biodiesel is a renewable resource. Because biodiesel contains alkyl esters (methanol or ethanol), while petroleum diesel is comprised of alkenes and hydrocarbons, it burns cleaner than petroleum fuel. Promoters believe that increasing the use of biodiesel could ultimately be part of the solution to the imminent energy crisis.

One of the side-effects of using biodiesel is that it actually cleans as it works. This can have unintended consequences on vehicles that had previously been using petroleum diesel fuel, as the cleaned off crud can clog fuel filters. Another point to notice for anyone wanting to switch is that older diesel vehicles may need a hose upgrade, as biodiesel can eat through old school rubber fuel lines.

The new fuel is still somewhat scarce in many parts of the US; but new stations offering this alternative are cropping up all the time. In a pinch, some enterprising folks advocate home brew (note: the 90ways kitchen has NOT tested this recipe), and I met a fellow who is testing raw canola oil in his diesel engines.

So go for it - get fries with that. Cooking oil may not be good for you, but it could be great for the planet.

(WARNING: The following piece of science writing may not be suitable for the general public. It was penned while listening to Prince's Lovesexy, contains graphic depiction of laboratory coitus and startling emasculation by way of soy products. Proceed with caution or just "Come bathe with me...")

Sex? Alright, pretty cool... Sex and Science? Can I say Ho! Apparently due to the annual meeting of the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology, this week was particularly wealthy in news within the field of sex science. We're not talking "Dr." Ruth here, the following breakthroughs recently presented involve actual experiments, data and even results. That's not to say that things didn't get kinky. For instance, imagine coming across the following advertisement in the back pages of your local newspaper: "Sexually active heterosexual couples wanted for experiment probing the nature of the female orgasm to be conducted at the University of Groningen in Denmark. Must be comfortable having sexual intercourse in a brain scanning PET machine. We ensure all videotapes of experiments will be destroyed."

I can't read Danish, so I'm not sure if this was the actual text of the ad, but Professor Gert Holstege seems the perfect man for the job of elucidating the intricacies of brain function during orgasm. With previous publications sporting such titles as "The Neurobiology of Cat and Human Sexual Behavior", how could this guy go wrong? During the experiment, the female participant received stimulation from her male partner while she lay with her head in the scanning machine. By comparing brain activity between resting state and the point just after orgasm, Holstege concluded that a large number of brain areas shut down once climax is reached. Specifically, activity levels decreased in the amygdala, hippocampus, and the prefrontal cortex, areas involved in anxiety and emotion. Not surprisingly, these areas were not deactivated when the women faked an orgasm, proving once again that there's nothing like the real thing, baby.

The evolutionary implications of this find are interesting. The old rumor that a female orgasm is necessary for conception has long been dispelled, but it's possible that the shutting down of these brain areas demonstrates that the urge to procreate is important enough to override signals vital to the survival of an organism. Maybe this is the real meaning behind the phrase "Crazy in Love."

Speaking of evolution, ever wonder why there aren't more vegetarians in this world? Well, it could be that a compound in soybeans causes sperm to explode! A new study suggests that the compound genistein -- present at high levels in soy beans and other legumes -- causes sperm to undergo the acrosome reaction, the process that breaks down the membrane surrounding the sperm cell, inducing it to release its genetic cargo upon penetrating the egg. Conducted within the pH balanced medium of an artificial vagina, low levels of genistein caused a third of sperm mixed into the solution to "pop their caps", effectively inactivating them.

The study supports previous research, in which male rats were injected thrice weekly with genistein. Rats that underwent this treatment fathered litters with half as many pups on average. With demonstrated effects on both males and females, the data suggest that couples trying to conceive should avoid soy products for a few days around their attempts. At the same time, others point to the lack of fertility problems in Asia -- where high levels of soy products are consumed -- as evidence that the actual effect of soy on fertility is more complicated or perhaps insignificant. In the end, the real world is often more complicated than a lab experiment. Perhaps women's brains only turn off when they reach orgasm in the awkward, and presumably uncomfortable environment of a brain scanning machine.

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