The root-associated bacterium Exiguobacterium R2567 regulates tiller number by producing cyclo(Leu-Pro), which activates the rice strigolactone signaling pathway.
Category: food
Strawberry fields forever will exist for the in-demand fruit, but the laborers who do the backbreaking work of harvesting them might continue to dwindle. While raised, high-bed cultivation somewhat eases the manual labor, the need for robots to help harvest strawberries, tomatoes, and other such produce is apparent.
As a first step, Osaka Metropolitan University Assistant Professor Takuya Fujinaga has developed an algorithm for robots to autonomously drive in two modes: moving to a pre-designated destination and moving alongside raised cultivation beds. The Graduate School of Engineering researcher experimented with an agricultural robot that utilizes lidar point cloud data to map the environment.
Official website for Osaka Metropolitan University. Established in 2022 through the merger of Osaka City University and Osaka Prefecture University.
Should you step away from the chicken wings?
For years, the conventional wisdom has been to swap out red meat for white meats like chicken and poultry to help reduce health risks like increased cholesterol, cancer, and inflammation —not to mention get a more budget-friendly protein source. But a new study links eating chicken and other poultry with a significantly increased risk of dying from gastrointestinal cancer and all other causes.
But before you put down the chicken—or roll your eyes and get back to your chicken Caesar—check out the details of the study, and what a dietitian says you should do if you’re concerned.
Reducing high blood pressure substantially lowers the risk of dementia and cognitive impairment without dementia, according to the results of a phase 3 clinical trial involving almost 34,000 patients, published in Nature Medicine. These findings highlight the potential importance of widespread adoption of more intensive blood pressure control among patients with hypertension to reduce the global disease burden of dementia.
It is estimated that the global number of people with dementia will rise from 57.4 million in 2019 to 152.8 million by 2050, with the greatest impact being in low-to middle-income countries. Previous research suggests that lifestyle interventions, such as eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly, could be the most effective way to reduce the growing global incidence of dementia.
Research has also found that people with untreated hypertension have a 42% greater risk of developing dementia in their lifetime than healthy study participants. However, only a few randomized controlled trials have tested the effect of medications that reduce blood pressure on the risk of dementia, and none have looked at it as a primary trial endpoint.
Addressing the challenges of fragrance design, researchers at the Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo) have developed an AI model that can automate the creation of new fragrances based on user-defined scent descriptors. The model uses mass spectrometry profiles of essential oils and corresponding odor descriptors to generate essential oil blends for new scents.
This advance could be a game-changer for the fragrance industry, moving beyond trial-and-error to enable rapid and scalable fragrance production. The findings are published in IEEE Access.
Designing new fragrances is crucial in industries like perfumery, food, and home products, where scent significantly influences the overall experience of these products. However, traditional fragrance creation can be time-consuming and often depends on the skill and expertise of specialized perfumers. The process is typically challenging and labor-intensive, requiring numerous trial-and-error attempts to achieve the desired scent.
If you haven’t heard of a tardigrade before, prepare to be wowed. These clumsy, eight-legged creatures, nicknamed water bears, are about half a millimeter long and can survive practically anything: freezing temperatures, near starvation, high pressure, radiation exposure, outer space and more. Researchers reporting in the journal Nano Letters took advantage of the tardigrade’s nearly indestructible nature and gave the critters tiny “tattoos” to test a microfabrication technique to build microscopic, biocompatible devices.
“Through this technology, we’re not just creating micro-tattoos on tardigrades—we’re extending this capability to various living organisms, including bacteria,” explains Ding Zhao, a co-author of the paper.
Microfabrication has revolutionized electronics and photonics, creating micro-and nanoscale devices ranging from microprocessors and solar cells to biosensors that detect food contamination or cancerous cells. But the technology could also advance medicine and biomedical engineering, if researchers can adapt microfabrication techniques to make them compatible with the biological realm.
Prebiotic molecules central to life’s earliest metabolic processes—chemical reactions in cells that change food into energy—may have been born in deep space long before Earth existed, according to new research from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Department of Chemistry.
Scientists in the W. M. Keck Research Laboratory in Astrochemistry have recreated the extreme conditions found in dense interstellar clouds and discovered a way for the complete set of complex carboxylic acids—critical ingredients in modern metabolism—to form without life on timescales equivalent to a few million years.
The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, focused on molecules such as those in the Krebs cycle, a fundamental metabolic pathway used by nearly all living organisms. These molecules, which help break down nutrients to release energy, may have cosmic origins, forming in the icy, low-temperature environments of interstellar space.
Artificial Intelligence isn’t science fiction anymore—it’s a transformative force shaping the way we live, work, and innovate. In this groundbreaking documentary, explore the real-world applications of AI as it evolves from code into conscious collaboration. From autonomous flying drones to lifelike androids, we uncover how AI is pushing the boundaries of possibility.
The Revolution Of AI (2020)
✍️ Writers: Kyle McCabe, Christopher Webb Young.
⭐ Stars: Shivani Bigler, Jason Derenick, Barbara Grosz.
🎞️ Genre: Documentary.
🌍 Country: United States.
🗣️ Language: English.
🎭 Also Known As: Hyper Intelligence.
📅 Release Date: 2020 (United States)
Synopsis:
Join leading experts and visionary engineers as they guide us through the cutting edge of AI technology. Discover how robotic drones are learning to think for themselves, navigating unknown terrain during high-risk rescue missions. See how swarm technology is revolutionizing farming, and how robots are teaming up with humans to increase safety and productivity at work.
Watch as scientists work toward the next big leap—robots with self-awareness. These advanced machines are learning to understand themselves, make decisions, and adapt to the world around them. With androids now capable of human-like interaction, the line between machine and man continues to blur.
The FDA has approved 36 food dyes, nine of which are artificial and made from petroleum.
Despite advances in wastewater treatment, tiny plastic particles called microplastics are still slipping through, posing potential health and environmental hazards, according to new research from The University of Texas at Arlington.
Because plastic is inexpensive to produce yet lightweight and sturdy, manufacturers have found it ideal for use in nearly every consumer good, from food and beverage packaging to clothing and beauty products. The downside is that when a plastic item reaches the end of its useful life, it never truly disappears. Instead, it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics—particles five millimeters or less, about the width of a pencil eraser—that end up in our soil and water.
“What our systematic literature review found is that while most wastewater treatment facilities significantly reduce microplastics loads, complete removal remains unattainable with current technologies,” said Un-Jung Kim, assistant professor of Earth and environmental sciences at UT Arlington and senior author of the study published in Science of the Total Environment.