The Eggstraordinary Fortress
9 days ago
- #Egg Safety
- #Natural Defenses
- #Biotech Insights
- The author initially believed cooked eggs left out overnight were safe due to the eggshell's perceived impenetrability.
- Eggshells are porous with thousands of microscopic openings, allowing small bacteria to pass through, contrary to the author's initial assumption.
- Eggs have multiple layers of defense against contaminants, including an antimicrobial cuticle, fibrous membranes, and a high-pH egg white with antimicrobial properties.
- Cooking an egg can compromise its natural defenses by denaturing antimicrobial proteins and creating negative pressure that draws in contaminants.
- The egg's security system is a network of independent protective layers, each functioning autonomously without continuous energy input.
- The author compares the egg's resilience to engineered systems, noting that the egg's layers do not fail collectively if one is compromised.
- The lesson drawn is that designed environments should emulate the egg's core (supportive and rich) and its protective layers (resilient and hostile to bad actors).