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Archive for the ‘food’ category: Page 232

Feb 2, 2019

An Arkansas Teen Helped Turn Tea Leaves and Molasses Into a Supercapacitor

Posted by in categories: food, materials

In the search for people working on cheaper supercapacitors, she found herself in the lab of Noureen Siraj, Ph.D., an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock. One of Siraj’s students, Samantha Macchi, had already been working on such a project for about a year and a half, figuring out how to make supercapacitor electrodes from common materials like used tea leaves, molasses, and a basic kitchen microwave oven — humble beginnings for a high-tech device. Siraj and Macchi brought Bollimpalli onto the project to learn about the work, which she later presented at ISEF. Meanwhile, Macchi and Siraj published the resulting research in January in the journal Chemistry Select.

Bollimpalli was initially assigned to a different project in the lab, but when she found out about the work on supercapacitors, she asked to switch tasks. Siraj, who is used to having high school students learn about her team’s work, quickly obliged.

“She quickly learned all the protocols, and she actually was able to explain. She brought an understanding that is missing in a lot of the high school students,” Siraj tells Inverse. “She really is good at absorbing the information.” They worked together tirelessly to help Bollimpalli nail the presentation she would later give at ISEF.

Continue reading “An Arkansas Teen Helped Turn Tea Leaves and Molasses Into a Supercapacitor” »

Feb 1, 2019

Lab-Grown Chicken Nuggets Made From Feathers to Hit Shelves

Posted by in categories: food, futurism

https://youtube.com/watch?v=_GgP6jo5DTM

Is lab grown meat the future of the industry, or simply an expensive boondoggle that wealthy investors like Bill Gates and Richard Branson will eventually have to bite the bullet on? According to major players in this “cultured meat” industry, lab grown meats can replace having to actually slaughter and process these foods for human consumption, preventing animal deaths and giving rise to a new era in the food industry.


The JUST cultured meat company of California hopes to sell nuggets synthesized from chicken feathers by the end of 2018.

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Jan 31, 2019

Parasite spread

Posted by in categories: food, neuroscience

By cats that is carried by two billion people may lead to schizophrenia, experts have warned.

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) can be spread either through contract with cat litter trays or by eating uncooked meat but it is typically harmless.

However, according to a new study, the parasite could increase the chances of developing schizophrenia by 50 per cent.

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Jan 30, 2019

This Fungus Eats Polyurethane

Posted by in category: food

A mysterious strain of fungus that scientists found in a garbage dump in Pakistan eats plastic.

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Jan 30, 2019

Pet food manufacturers are experimenting with insects instead of meat

Posted by in category: food

Pet food manufacturers are turning to edible insects as the main ingredient in their products. Read on to find out all the benefits!

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Jan 30, 2019

How Do Plants Grow in Space?

Posted by in categories: food, space

For humans to survive off Earth, we’ll need vegetables to eat and flowers to admire.

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Jan 30, 2019

Industrial chemicals pass from mother to fetus throughout pregnancy

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

In a study published in Environment International researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden show how PFAS industrial chemicals, which are used in many consumer products, pass through the placenta throughout pregnancy to accumulate in fetal tissue. Further research is now needed to ascertain the effect that highly persistent PFAS chemicals have on the fetus.

The PFAS () group comprises thousands of human-made chemicals, which, thanks to their water- and grease-resistant properties, are used in everything from frying pans and food packaging to clothes, cleaning agents and firefighting foams.

“We’ve focused on six of these PFAS substances and found that all appear to the same extent in as in the placenta,” says Richelle Duque Björvang, doctoral student at the Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet. “So when the baby is born, it already has a build-up of these chemicals in the lungs, liver, brain, and elsewhere in the body.”

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Jan 28, 2019

Stress and dream sleep are linked to pathways of brain cell death and survival

Posted by in categories: food, neuroscience

Monitoring their sleeping patterns, researchers identified an increase in the duration and continuity of REM sleep and specific brain oscillations characteristic of REM sleep, whereas ‘deep’ sleep, or non-REM sleep, did not change. The changes in REM sleep were very tightly linked to deficiency in the regulation of the stress hormone corticosterone. Mild stress also caused changes in gene expression in the brain.


The first and most distinct consequence of daily mild stress is an increase in rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep, a new study in the journal PNAS reports. The research also demonstrated that this increase is associated with genes involved in cell death and survival.

REM sleep, also known as paradoxical sleep, is the sleep state during which we have most of our dreams and is involved in the regulation of emotions and memory consolidation. REM sleep disturbances are common in mood disorders, such as depression. However, little was known about how sleep changes are linked to molecular changes in the brain.

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Jan 25, 2019

DIY CRISPR: Genetic Engineering at Home

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

You can now perform CRISPR gene-editing in your kitchen!

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Jan 25, 2019

Aleph Farms

Posted by in categories: food, sustainability

Better for people, better for the world.

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