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Archive for the ‘food’ category: Page 266

May 14, 2018

If we can’t recycle it, why not turn our waste plastic into fuel?

Posted by in categories: energy, food, sustainability

Australia’s recycling crisis needs us to look into waste management options beyond just recycling and landfilling. Some of our waste, like paper or organic matter, can be composted. Some, like glass, metal and rigid plastics, can be recycled. But we have no immediate solution for non-recyclable plastic waste except landfill.

At a meeting last month, federal and state environment ministers endorsed an ambitious target to make all Australian packaging recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2025. But the ministers also showed support for processes to turn our into energy, although they did not specifically discuss plastic waste as an energy source.

The 100% goal could easily be achieved if all packaging were made of paper or wood-based materials. But realistically, plastic will continue to dominate our packaging, especially for food, because it is moisture-proof, airtight, and hygienic.

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May 11, 2018

Researchers find glycolysis links to gene transcription via NAD+

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, food

A team of researchers at the University of Texas has found NAD+ synthesis and consumption integrate glucose metabolism and adipogenic transcription during adipocyte differentiation. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their research into how glucose is converted into fat in the body and what they found. Sophie Trefely and Kathryn Wellen with the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, respectively, offer a Perspective piece on the work done by the team in Texas in the same journal issue.

As obesity rates continue to climb around the globe, scientists continue to explore why it is happening. In addition to studying the psychological aspects involved, scientists would also like to better understand why eating too much makes people gain weight. In this new effort, the researchers looked more closely into why consuming too much glucose causes the body to produce fat.

Prior research has shown that (NAD) is an important molecule that plays a role in a wide variety of physiological and pathological processes. Its oxidized form, NAD+, has also been found to act as a cofactor in metabolic pathways, and more importantly, perhaps, is consumed by various enzymes. Once consumed, NAD+ is broken down into nicotinamides and ADP-ribose. This, the researchers note, means that NAD+ must be resynthesized for normal cellular function to continue. They further note that some prior research has suggested that lower-than-normal levels of NAD+ can alter , leading in some cases to higher disease susceptibility.

Continue reading “Researchers find glycolysis links to gene transcription via NAD+” »

May 11, 2018

Data storage on DNA: Where Silicon Valley meets biotech

Posted by in categories: computing, food, genetics, media & arts

In the heart of San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood, which not long ago was dirt lots and warehouses, Emily Leproust is cooking up what she — and $209 million worth of investor cash — believes is the future of DNA production.

Leproust is CEO of Twist Bioscience, a 5-year-old biotech company striving to make the production of synthetic DNA — which is used in fragrances, genetically modified foods and pharmaceutical drugs — cheaper, faster and smaller.

The same lab-manufactured DNA, Leproust hopes, could also transform the way data, from music to medical records, is stored.

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May 10, 2018

US commercial drones given green light

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, drones, food, robotics/AI

Drones that monitor crops, control mosquito populations and deliver defibrillators are to be tested in US airspace.

Ten commercial drone projects have been selected to try out new ways for unmanned aircraft to be integrated into the skies.

They include Zipline, which currently offers a blood-delivery service in Rwanda, and Apple.

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May 9, 2018

Alternative Way to Grow Food

Posted by in category: food

These vegetables grew without any soil or light in subzero Antarctica. #MadeInAntarctica

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May 8, 2018

Computer-controlled ‘greenhouses’ in kitchens grow fresher, healthier produce

Posted by in categories: computing, food, sustainability

A Purdue University-affiliated startup that seeks to redefine “farm-to-table” when it comes to garden vegetables by delivering its first orders of an appliance that fits under a kitchen counter and grows produce year-round.

Heliponix LLC, founded by two Purdue University graduates, has begun taking orders on its GroPod, a dishwasher-sized device its creators believe will disrupt the landscape of how food is produced in the face of looming worldwide food shortages and increasing concerns about chemical runoff polluting water sources, rampant food waste and water supplies diminishing on a global scale.

“It’s great for consumers and for the environment,” said Scott Massey, CEO of Heliponix.

Continue reading “Computer-controlled ‘greenhouses’ in kitchens grow fresher, healthier produce” »

May 7, 2018

Bioquark Inc. — Too Sick And Naked Podcast — Ira Pastor

Posted by in categories: aging, biotech/medical, DNA, food, genetics, health, life extension, neuroscience, science, transhumanism

http://toosickandnaked.com/2018/05/07/25-the-future-of-medic…-bioquark/

May 6, 2018

Scientists in China Race to Edit Crop Genes, Sowing Unease in U.S.

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

China’s push into gene-editing crops sows unease in America’s heartland: Will U.S. farmers be shut out?


Chinese-owned Syngenta makes strides in new technologies to alter plant DNA, as U.S. farmers worry that cutting-edge agricultural science is shifting East.

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May 5, 2018

Deletion of single enzyme stops mice getting fat, no matter the diet

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

A compelling study from a team of researchers at the University of Copenhagen has demonstrated a way to completely stop a body’s ability to store fat. In experiments with mice, the team showed that genetically deleting a single enzyme resulted in the animal not being able to gain weight, even when fed a fatty diet.

An enzyme dubbed NAMPT has been connected to obesity in both human and animal models by several studies. Its presence in fat tissue has been found to increase metabolic functionality in numerous body tissues, including fat tissue, which enhances the body’s ability to store fat.

“NAMPT in fat tissue was likely once an extraordinary benefit to our ancestors but in today’s society full of high-fat, calorically-dense foods, it may now pose a liability,” says Zachary Gerhart-Hines, a corresponding author on the study.

Continue reading “Deletion of single enzyme stops mice getting fat, no matter the diet” »

May 1, 2018

How bacteria are not only resisting antibiotics, but eating them too

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, food

As if it’s not bad enough that bacteria are increasingly becoming resistant to our best antibiotics – some bugs are even eating the drugs. An international team of scientists has now examined just how the bacteria disarm and consume the antibiotics as food, uncovering new potential ways to fight back against resistance.

Bacteria are evolving resistance to antibiotics at an alarming rate, thanks to overprescription and overuse. If left unchecked, reports suggest that by 2050 the so-called superbugs could be responsible for up to 10 million deaths a year, ushering in a new dark age of medicine where our drugs simply don’t work.

Adding insult to injury, some species of bacteria flaunt their resistance by actually chowing down on antibiotics. New research out of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has set out to examine just how the bacteria manage to do this.

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