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Archive for the ‘food’ category: Page 269

Mar 23, 2018

Scientists develop tiny tooth-mounted sensors that can track what you eat

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

Monitoring in real time what happens in and around our bodies can be invaluable in the context of health care or clinical studies, but not so easy to do. That could soon change thanks to new, miniaturized sensors developed by researchers at the Tufts University School of Engineering that, when mounted directly on a tooth and communicating wirelessly with a mobile device, can transmit information on glucose, salt and alcohol intake. In research to be published soon in the journal Advanced Materials, researchers note that future adaptations of these sensors could enable the detection and recording of a wide range of nutrients, chemicals and physiological states.

Previous wearable devices for monitoring dietary intake suffered from limitations such as requiring the use of a mouth guard, bulky wiring, or necessitating frequent replacement as the rapidly degraded. Tufts engineers sought a more adoptable technology and developed a sensor with a mere 2mm x 2mm footprint that can flexibly conform and bond to the irregular surface of a tooth. In a similar fashion to the way a toll is collected on a highway, the sensors transmit their data wirelessly in response to an incoming radiofrequency signal.

The sensors are made up of three sandwiched layers: a central “bioresponsive” layer that absorbs the nutrient or other chemicals to be detected, and outer layers consisting of two square-shaped gold rings. Together, the three layers act like a tiny antenna, collecting and transmitting waves in the radiofrequency spectrum. As an incoming wave hits the sensor, some of it is cancelled out and the rest transmitted back, just like a patch of blue paint absorbs redder wavelengths and reflects the blue back to our eyes.

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Mar 22, 2018

Changing Regulations Mean Genetically Modified Meat Could Soon Be on Your Plate

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

Biotech lobbyists and companies are trying to get the Trump administration to hand regulation of genetically edited animals over to the USDA, which has more lenient rules than the FDA, which currently regulates animals.

Low-fat pigs? Chickens with cancer-fighting eggs?

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Mar 22, 2018

Unique communication strategy discovered in stem cell pathway controlling plant growth

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

A team of plant geneticists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has identified a protein receptor on stem cells involved in plant development that can issue different instructions about how to grow depending on what peptide (protein fragment) activates it.

This is the first such multi-functional receptor found to work in this way to control . The new findings obtained by CSHL Professor David Jackson and colleagues may have important implications for efforts to boost yields of essential food crops such as corn and rice.

Plant growth and development depend on structures called meristems — reservoirs in plants that contain . When prompted by peptide signals, stem in the meristem develop into any of the plant’s organs — roots, leaves, or flowers, for example. These signals generally work like a key (the peptide) fitting into a lock on the surface of a cell (the ). The lock opens momentarily, triggering the release of a inside the cell. The messenger carries instructions for the cell to do something, such as grow into a root or flower cell or even stop growing altogether. Conventionally, one or more peptides fit into a receptor to release a single type of chemical messenger.

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Mar 16, 2018

Autonomous Robot Bees Are Being Patented by… Walmart?

Posted by in categories: food, robotics/AI

While bee populations dwindle at an alarming rate, Walmart made a surprising move in filing a patent for robot bees to act as agricultural pollinators.

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Mar 11, 2018

The freshest herbs in Manhattan were grown in this office building basement

Posted by in categories: food, sustainability

New York City’s discerning high-end chefs often ship in rare herbs and edible flowers from other states or even overseas. But Farm.One, an organic farm in the basement of an office building in Manhattan, can pick and deliver the precious leaves and flowers within the same day, says Robert Laing, the company’s CEO.

With its stacked shelves of hydroponic plants and grow lights, Farm. One is part of a growing movement of vertical farming across the world. The tech-enabled system uses less space and water than traditional farming.

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Mar 11, 2018

This cauliflower-picking robot aims to make up for a shortage of human labor in the UK

Posted by in categories: food, robotics/AI

Meet GummiArm, the soft-handed robot that could fill in for a lack of human crop pickers—if British farmers can afford the cost.

The problem: The Telegraph notes that 40 percent of the growing costs for cauliflower, and similar crops like cabbage and broccoli, comes from harvesting in the UK. And that could rise, as crop-picking labor supply is set to decline in the country following Brexit.

Robots could help: University of Plymouth researchers say their GummiArm bot can pick up the slack. Computer vision allows it to work out which vegetable it should try to pick, while its hand can become more or less stiff to gently pick brassicas from their stems. It’s currently being tested in fields in southwestern England.

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Mar 11, 2018

From strawberries to apples, a wave of agriculture robotics may ease the farm labor crunch

Posted by in categories: food, robotics/AI, sustainability

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Mar 11, 2018

Gene Editing Just Got So Precise, Researchers Can Change Single Letters of DNA Code

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

MhAX, or Microhomology-Assisted eXcision.


Gene editing has the power to completely reshape our world.

It promises everything from fixing the genetic faults that lead to disease, to destroying disease-causing microbes, to improving the nutrition of the foods we eat and even resurrecting extinct species like the wooly mammoth — all largely thanks to the genetic editing tool CRISPR, which has both popularized this work and made it possible.

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Mar 10, 2018

Zoltan Istvan for CA Governor

Posted by in categories: food, space, transhumanism

My free event tomorrow w/ free food in San Francisco at Stock and Trade, 4-6PM. Come here me talk transhumanism and politics, and ask questions. Network TV is on hand to film it and would love to hear from you. Free tickets are below:


The Libertarian Party of San Francisco invites you to join us as we host Zoltan Istvan in his run for governor of California. Come and discover Zoltan’s unique perspective on Libertarianism and Transhumanism, and learn how he is working to spread these ideas in California and across the nation.

Join us at Stock in Trade where you will hear Zoltan speak and have an opportunity ask questions, followed by plenty of time to socialize with other LIbertarians. We will provide appetizers and addtional food and drinks are available for purchase from the bar.

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Mar 9, 2018

No Refrigeration Necessary: New Tech for Everlasting Shelf-Life

Posted by in category: food

There’s hope for a tastier, healthier, more robust tomorrow: high-tech new food preservation methods that fend off the bad stuff (bacteria, spoilage) while protecting the good (flavor, texture, nutrients). Scientists are experimenting with everything from microwave sterilization to blasts of plasma to ensure food stays appetizing longer—even without refrigeration. That salmon dinner you bought on Monday? It’ll taste just as fresh a week later. And it’ll be just as good for you.

Best for: Berries, nuts Scientists at Scotland’s University of Strathclyde pioneered a technique that bombards fluids with high-intensity blue light, which produces a form of oxygen that’s lethal to pathogens. It’s now being adapted for use on berries and other foods.

Best for: Eggs The USDA has developed a machine for eliminating salmonella in fresh eggs. Electrodes pulse radio frequency waves through the shells, targeting the space between the white and yolk where salmonella dwells.

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