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Category: food – Page 355

Eating Sugar And Fatty Foods Is As Bad As Doing Drugs

Is it time for rehab for junk food junkies?

Apparently, all the burgers and smoothies you’re consuming cause your brain to forget to stop eating even when you’re full.

Can you relate to midnight cravings and the feeling of perpetual hunger? Do you resort to grabbing fast food on the fly or eating out of a tub of ice cream while you’re bored around the house?

New research reveals obesity may be a brain disease that worsens in people with a diet high in sugar and fat. People who are diet conscious and eat healthy are less likely to indulge in sweet cravings and unhealthy snacks, since their brain recalls a sense of fulfillment derived from watching what they eat. Consuming sugars and fats hinders the functioning of the hippocampus area of one’s brain, blocking from their mind the memories of when their stomach felt full.

Hacked 3D printers could commit industrial sabotage

3D printers can churn out toys, clothing and even food. But the technology also shows potential for use in industrial sabotage, researchers warn.

Imagine a car maker using 3D printers to manufacture components, only to have the parts contain defects that are undetectable until it’s too late.

A hacker with access to the 3D printers could make that happen, a team of researchers wrote in a recent paper. This could result in a “devastating impact” for users and lead to product recalls and lawsuits, said New York University professor Nikhil Gupta, the lead author of the paper.

From Plough to Pipette

In part 2 of our plant synthetic biology series we teamed up with Cameron Tout of the Legume Laboratory blog to introduce some of the tools of plant synbio and how these are being applied to agriculture.

Over 9000 years ago the first domesticated varieties of wheat were created in South West Asia. What was remarkable about these plants is that they were selected by humans to retain their seeds rather than dispersing them by wind. This meant that wheat became dependent on farmers for propagation, but allowed people to harvest grain without the pods shattering in their hands.

Since then, humans have been modifying plants in ever more sophisticated ways, the 20th century saw the introduction of mutation breeding and hybrid technology, resulting in massive gains in crop yields.

Star Trek Competition Takes 3D Printing to Space

Space and technology have collided in a recent design challenge hosted by Star Trek and NASA. Future Engineers has once again called upon students to push their creative boundaries. Since February 2016, they have been working hard to engineer 3D printable design concepts aimed at food sustainability in space. More than 400 students from 30 US states created amazing solutions that would aid astronauts in harvesting, preparing, eating and disposing of food while on long-duration space missions. A panel of judges from NASA, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Foundation, and Made In Space, Inc. selected Kyle Corrette from Phoenix, Arizona and Sreyash Sola from Asburn, Virginia as winners of their respective Teen Group and Junior Group. Judges also selected three finalists from each group, who were each awarded a MakerBot Replicator Mini Compact 3D printer for their school and a PancakeBot for their household. Winners Corrette and Sola received a grand prize trip to New York City for a private viewing of the Space Shuttle Enterprise with astronaut Mike Massimino at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, as well as a VIP tour of MakerBot’s headquarters in Brooklyn, New York.

Read more about each finalist’s innovative design concept below:

The World’s Largest Vertical Farm Is Being Built in New Jersey

A huge vertical farm—where crops are planted, grown, and harvested all with neither sun nor soil—is being built in New Jersey. When it’s finished, it will be the largest one in the world.

You can see one of the (smaller) existing factories from AeroFarm, on which the new one will be modeled, above in this video from Seeker Stories. Nothing they are doing or planning is really new—people have been growing vegetables indoors under LED lights, minus the soil, for a very long time now. Even the factory spin is nothing new. Japan’s Mirai factory has been doing something similar on a slightly smaller scale for years now. What is interesting here, though, is just how big this place is.

Stop Bashing G.M.O. Foods, More Than 100 Nobel Laureates Say

Genetically modified organisms and foods are a safe way to meet the demands of a ballooning global population, the 109 laureates wrote in a letter posted online and officially unveiled at a news conference on Thursday in Washington, D.C.

The world’s top scientists say opponents of genetically modified foods are standing in the way of nutrition for people around the world.

New Gaming Software Hopes to Train Brain to Resist Sweets

Games to help fight obesity?

Innovative research uses technology to help people with a sweet-tooth lose weight. Researchers believe they can train the brain to better resist temptation and warn people of an unhealthy urge before the temptation occurs.

Specifically, Drexel University psychologists have created a computer game aimed at improving users’ inhibitory control. Additionally, the investigators are also rolling out a mobile app that used in conjunction with the Weight Watchers app, will alert users on unhealthy urges before they strike.

The game is designed to improve a person’s “inhibitory control,” the part of the brain that stops you from giving into unhealthy cravings — even when the smell of French fries is practically begging you to step inside a fast food restaurant.

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