Summary: A recent study has mapped how molecules in food interact with gut bacteria, revealing why people respond differently to the same diets. By examining 150 dietary compounds, researchers found that these molecules can reshape gut microbiomes in some individuals, while having little effect in others.
This breakthrough could enable personalized nutrition strategies to better manage health risks. The findings offer a deeper understanding of the gut microbiome’s role in health and disease.
A student built a pangolin-inspired robot for planting, winning the University of Surrey’s robotics contest.
A California student created Plantolin, a pangolin-inspired robot for digging and planting, winning the University of Surrey’s contest.
UPTON, N.Y. — Efforts to achieve net-zero carbon emissions from transportation fuels are increasing demand for oil produced by nonfood crops. These plants use sunlight to power the conversion of atmospheric carbon dioxide into oil, which accumulates in seeds. Crop breeders interested in selecting plants that produce a lot of oil look for yellow seeds. In oilseed crops like canola, yellow-seeded varieties generally produce more oil than their brown-seeded counterparts. The reason: The protein responsible for brown seed color — which yellow-seeded plants lack — also plays a key role in oil production.
Now, plant biochemists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory — who are interested in increasing plant oil synthesis for the sustainable production of biofuels and other bioproducts — have harnessed this knowledge to create a new high-yielding oilseed crop variety. In a paper just published in The Plant Biotechnology Journal, they describe how they used tools of modern genetics to produce a yellow-seeded variety of Camelina sativa, a close relative of canola, that accumulates 21.4% more oil than ordinary camelina.
“If breeders can get a few percent increase in oil production, they regard it as significant, because even small increases in yield can lead to large increases in oil production when you’re planting millions of acres,” said Brookhaven Lab biochemist John Shanklin, chair of the Lab’s Biology Department and leader of its plant oil research program. “Our nearly 22% increase was unexpected and could potentially result in a dramatic increase in production,” he said.
Did you know certain seed-heavy fruits like raspberries are actually healthier if you blend them in a smoothie?
I learned this and more while researching for my article on the best longevity recipes:
We took the top anti-aging foods and combined them into a list of the best longevity recipes to help you live a longer, tastier life.
Researchers from the Color and Food Quality group at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Seville, in partnership with Dr. Marina Ezcurra’s team at the University of Kent (UK), have demonstrated that the carotenoid phytoene extends the lifespan of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Additionally, it delays the onset of paralysis linked to amyloid plaque formation in an Alzheimer’s disease model.
Specifically, increases in longevity of between 10 and 18.6% and decreases in the proteotoxic effect of plaques of between 30 and 40% were observed. The studies, which form part of Ángeles Morón Ortiz’s doctoral thesis, tested pure phytoene and extracts rich in this carotenoid obtained from microalgae.
According to Dr. Paula Mapelli Brahm, “These are very exciting preliminary results, so we are looking for funding to continue this line of research and to find out by what mechanisms these effects are produced.”
O.o!!!
The lack of water was particularly impacting Indigenous communities who depend on the river for food and transport, it added.
AFP has observed boats stranded around Leticia, capital of the southern Amazonas state, in recent days, with large swathes of land exposed by low water levels.
The city, near the borders with Brazil and Peru, is a critical trading post along the Amazon River.
“I estimate that 80% of 80% of all jobs, maybe more, can be done by an AI,” famed investor and entrepreneur Vinod Khosla has warned. “Be it primary care doctors, psychiatrists, sales people, oncologists, farm workers or assembly line workers, structural engineers, chip designers, you name it.”
Say hello to a universal income and a 3-day week.