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Archive for the ‘food’ category: Page 189

Oct 28, 2019

Yogurt, fiber, and lung cancer: What’s the link?

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, food

A new analysis using data from more than 1.4 million people concludes that eating an ample amount of fiber and yogurt may protect against lung cancer.

Oct 28, 2019

Fiber in Fruits and Grains Protects Against Diverticulitis

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, food, health

Our diets are overly refined. Eating more whole fruits, especially apples, pears and prunes, can help our digestive health.

Oct 28, 2019

Alert system for failing nuclear plant pipes uses thin films and sound vibrations

Posted by in categories: 3D printing, food, life extension, nanotechnology

A failing pipe can be tough to spot. It may cause a puddle, produce another sign of damage, or simply burst before detection. A flooded kitchen or laundry room is messy and inconvenient, but the stakes are much, much higher in nuclear power plants—which on average contain many miles of pipeline.

As concern about aging plants escalates, Vanderbilt engineers are working on an early warning system. They are using on the inside of the and 3D-printed polymer devices infused with nanoparticles as sensors to signal the changes on the outside of the pipe. And, they hope, sound.

A huge challenge is to detect the changes in the polymer film occurring inside the pipe. To create a useful and proactive technique, the team wants to use sound, or vibrometry, to identify these internal changes from outside the pipe.

Oct 25, 2019

Equity Group kick starts a 35 million trees planting campaign

Posted by in categories: employment, food, security, sustainability

You can protest about the Environment all you want, while some of us actually plant trees to heal it. Kenya is one country that has been instrumental in planting trees. Wangari Maathai had a coffin made of hyacinth, showing how real she was even in death. Ethiopia recently set a record planting trees. Some people talk, while others do. One Kenyan woman’s organization planted over 51 million trees, and still counting. #BeTheDifference


Equity Group has announced plans to implement an ambitious project to plant 35 million trees across the country within a year.

In an effort to conserve the environment, Equity has partnered with Kenya Forest Service (KFS) to promote Farm Forestry Initiatives.

Continue reading “Equity Group kick starts a 35 million trees planting campaign” »

Oct 24, 2019

CRISPR Just Created a Hornless Bull, and It’s a Step Forward for Gene-Edited Food

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, food, genetics

Gene-Edited Bulls

Although GMO wheat, corn, and other crops are frequently used in the US, scientists and farmers have begun shifting their focus to a far more accurate, cheaper, and potentially acceptable way of tinkering with the genome: genetic editing.

We’ve spilled plenty of ink on the merits of CRISPR and older-generation genetic editors such as TALEN. Rather than blindly sticking additional genes into a genome, these are guided approaches that surgically snip out or insert additional genetic material, and as such, are far more precise and predictable. Rather than inserting alien genes into our foods, scientists can now cut out genes detrimental to crop growth, or mimic mutations that provide advantages—a sort of “gene therapy” for food, but for enhancement rather than treatment.

Oct 24, 2019

Poor toilet hygiene behind E. coli superbug spread

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, food

People not washing their hands after going to the toilet, rather than undercooked meat, is behind the spread of a key strain of E. coli.

Experts looked at thousands of blood, faecal and food samples.

They found human-to-human transmission was responsible — “faecal particles from one person reaching the mouth of another”.

Oct 23, 2019

Lab-grown meat just took a huge step toward feeling like real meat

Posted by in categories: food, innovation

Lab-grown meat is coming to your plate, and thanks to a new breakthrough in its development, it may feel like traditional meat.

Researchers at Harvard University have discovered a way to use edible gelatin scaffolds to mimic real meat’s texture and consistency. The team used cow and rabbit muscle cells on the scaffolds to recreate the long, thin fibers that give meat its distinctive feel.

The research was published Monday in the journal NPJ Science of Food. Kit Parker, senior author of the study, said in a statement that he first started thinking about the idea after being a judge on the Food Network.

Oct 22, 2019

Study details diet that fuels anti-inflammatory gut bacteria

Posted by in categories: energy, food

A new study out of the University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands details the type of diet that was found to fuel the growth of healthy gut bacteria, particularly strains that have anti-inflammatory effects in the body. The results aren’t terribly surprising — that is to say, you’ll have to eat a healthy diet if you want a healthy gut. Among other things, the study found that high amounts of sugar and meat make things worse.

Oct 21, 2019

Gravity crystals: A new method for exploring the physics of white dwarf stars

Posted by in categories: food, particle physics, space

Grab a mixing bowl from your kitchen, throw in a handful of aluminum balls, apply some high voltage, and watch an elegant dance unfold where particles re-arrange themselves into a distinct “crystal” pattern. This curious behavior belongs to the phenomenon known as Wigner crystallization, where particles with the same electrical charge repel one another to form an ordered structure.

Wigner crystallization has been observed in variety of systems, ranging from particulates the size of sand grains suspended in small clouds of electrons and ions (called a dusty plasma) to the dense interiors of planet-sized , known as white dwarfs. Professor Alex Bataller of North Carolina State University has recently discovered that Wigner crystallization inside can be studied in the lab using a new class of classical systems, called gravity crystals.

For the curious behavior of Wigner crystallization to occur, there must be a system composed of charged particles that are both free to move about (plasma), that strongly interact with each other (strongly coupled particles), and has the presence of a confining force to keep the plasma particles from repulsively exploding away from each other.

Oct 20, 2019

What to know about fasting, aging, the ‘longevity diet’ and when you should eat

Posted by in categories: food, life extension

University of Southern California scientist Valter Longo talks in this Q&A about fasting and the adoption of a “longevity diet.” A researcher focusing on intermittent fasting and aging, Longo advocates a plant-based diet and smart, strategic caloric restriction for a longer, healthier life.