BBC Radio 4 - BBC Inside Science, UK AI & science-optimised pasta

The positives and pitfalls of AI in medicine and a pasta recipe with added physics.

Phase behavior of Cacio e Pepe sauce

``Pasta alla Cacio e pepe'' is a traditional Italian dish made with pasta, pecorino cheese, and pepper. Despite its simple ingredient list, achieving the perfect texture and creaminess of the sauce can be challenging. In this study, we systematically explore the phase behavior of Cacio e pepe sauce, focusing on its stability at increasing temperatures for various proportions of cheese, water, and starch. We identify starch concentration as the key factor influencing sauce stability, with direct implications for practical cooking. Specifically, we delineate a regime where starch concentrations below 1\% (relative to cheese mass) lead to the formation of system-wide clumps, a condition determining what we term the ``Mozzarella Phase'' and corresponding to an unpleasant and separated sauce. Additionally, we examine the impact of cheese concentration relative to water at a fixed starch level, observing a lower critical solution temperature that we theoretically rationalized by means of a minimal effective free-energy model. \tcr{We further analyze the effect of a less traditional stabilizer, trisodium citrate, and observe a sharp transition from the Mozzarella Phase to a completely smooth and stable sauce, in contrast to starch-stabilized mixtures, where the transition is more gradual.} Finally, we present a scientifically optimized recipe based on our findings, enabling a consistently flawless execution of this classic dish.

Cellular mechanisms driven by phase separation

Erwin Schrödinger International Institute for Mathematics and Physics (ESI)

The Erwin Schrödinger International Institute for Mathematics and Physics, founded in 1993 and part of the University of Vienna since 2011, is committed to the promotion of scholarly research in mathematics and physics. In the beginning its focus was on mathematical physics and mathematics and it has gained an international reputation in these fields of research. Over the years, the thematic spectrum of its scientific activities has been carefully extended, while maintaining high scientific standards. Recently, the ESI has enlarged its fields of competence to include theoretical, computational and experimental aspects of mathematics and physics. It is the Institute’s foremost objective to advance scientific knowledge over broad ranges of fields and themes in mathematics and physics, with an emphasis on the interface between them.

Erwin Schrödinger International Institute for Mathematics and Physics (ESI)

The Erwin Schrödinger International Institute for Mathematics and Physics, founded in 1993 and part of the University of Vienna since 2011, is committed to the promotion of scholarly research in mathematics and physics. In the beginning its focus was on mathematical physics and mathematics and it has gained an international reputation in these fields of research. Over the years, the thematic spectrum of its scientific activities has been carefully extended, while maintaining high scientific standards. Recently, the ESI has enlarged its fields of competence to include theoretical, computational and experimental aspects of mathematics and physics. It is the Institute’s foremost objective to advance scientific knowledge over broad ranges of fields and themes in mathematics and physics, with an emphasis on the interface between them.