Year 2023 I have found both spiders and bees are sentient because their emotional intelligence is very high much like a human child.
‘Fringe’ research suggests the insects that are essential to agriculture have emotions, dreams and even PTSD, raising complex ethical questions.
Research led by Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University in China has performed a metadata investigation into the presence of microplastics in humans. They report a concerning relationship between micro and nanoplastic (MNP) concentrations in damaged tissues and links with multiple health conditions.
Plastic usage soared from 1.5 million metric tons in the 1950s to nearly 390.7 million in 2021. With the increased use in consumer products came elevated microscopic plastic pollution circulating in soil and waterways, eventually accumulating in the environment, food webs and human tissues.
Consistent methods to pinpoint and quantify MNPs in human tissues are lacking. Reliable data linking MNPs to human diseases are necessary for assessing potential risks and developing mitigation measures.
Fasting in office or starving yourself at work might be a health time bomb. Here’s how to stop it to avoid the risk of heart disease and keep it beating strong.
The work-related death rate fell 95% in the U.S. between 1913 & 2015.
Labor union activism is often credited with the decline, but economic expansion is what made better working conditions possible in the first place.
Read more about this trend.
All economic activity involves some degree of physical risk. Credible data on work injuries and fatalities among our agrarian ancestors are difficult to come by. Yet agricultural work must have been quite unappealing, considering that so many people in the early 19th century preferred factory work over farm work.
The growth of maize, sugarcane and sorghum has been greatly boosted by modifying the plants to take advantage of higher carbon dioxide levels now found in the air.
This was done by simply increasing the activity of two genes, says Coralie Salesse-Smith at the University of Illinois. The finding should lead to the creation of new varieties whose yields go up as CO2 levels continue to rise.
For most of the time that photosynthetic cells that turn sunlight into food have existed, atmospheric levels of CO2 have been much higher (and the planet has been much hotter). As CO2 levels fell particularly low from about 35 million years ago, it exacerbated a fundamental flaw in photosynthesis that involves probably the most abundant protein on the planet, called rubisco.
Image: Przemyslaw Koch/Getty Images
Smartwatch bands from popular brands have been found to contain high concentrations of toxic for forever chemicals, also known as PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances). These synthetic chemicals do not break down easily in the environment and build in our bodies over time, hence earning them the nickname of forever chemicals.
PFAS are used in various consumer products, including non-stick cookware, water-resistant clothes, carpets, mattresses, food wraps, and more. Exposure to PFAS has been linked to serious health problems, including increased risks of certain cancers, hormone disruption, weakened immune systems, and developmental delays in children. These chemicals can leach into water, soil, and food, making them a growing public health concern worldwide.
A new study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters has found that smartwatch bands made of fluoroelastomers contain a very high concentration of a forever chemical known as perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA).
Employment and production typically move from agriculture to manufacturing to services, as part of a natural progression that comes with rising income. In Asia, factories have propelled economies, but a transition to modern services could be a new source of growth and productivity. Our blog explains.
Manufacturing has been the engine of growth in Asia, but a transition to modern, tradable services could be new source of growth and productivity.
Threat intelligence analysts have unmasked a dark web operation farming facial photos and ID data to enable sophisticated fraud—here’s what you need to know.
The great state of Wisconsin is about to get enough clean energy to power 200,000 homes, as the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin has approved a new solar farm that will be the most powerful in the state, Electrek reported.
Vista Sands Solar Farm, which will be located on 8,500 acres of private farmland in Portage County that is being leased from its owners, is being developed by Doral Renewables LLC, a Philadelphia-based company.
The project is expected to take around two years to complete. It will cost $1 billion and generate around 500 jobs during construction and 50 permanent positions once the farm is open for business, per the company.
Posted in biotech/medical, food, information science, robotics/AI | Leave a Comment on With Utter Self-Seriousness, Maker of Oreos Admits It’s Using AI To Create New Flavors, Even Though Machines Cannot Taste
The company behind Oreo cookies has, by its own admission, been quietly creating new flavors using machine learning.
As the Wall Street Journal reports, Mondelez — the processed food behemoth that manufactures Oreos, Chips Ahoy, Clif Bars, and other popular snacks — has developed a new AI tool to dream up new flavors for its brands.
Used in more than 70 of the company’s products, the company says the machine learning tool is different from generative AI tools like ChatGPT and more akin to the drug discovery algorithms used by pharmaceutical companies to find and test new medications rapidly. Thus far the tool, created with the help of the software consultant Fourkind, has created products like the “Gluten Free Golden Oreo” and updated Chips Ahoy’s classic recipe, per the WSJ.
