Food
Scientists grow plants in real lunar soil for the first time
Lunar soil was used to grow plants for the first time, suggesting that we may be able to produce food for astronauts off-world.
‘Mad honey’: The rare hallucinogen from the mountains of Nepal
On the mountainsides of Nepal and Turkey, bees sometimes produce a strange and dangerous concoction: mad honey.
Inspired by kombucha tea, engineers create living materials
A symbiotic culture of specialized yeast and bacteria can generate tough materials able to perform a variety of functions.
Smart sensor tells you exactly when fruit will ripen — or spoil
Inside vast warehouses, millions of fruits sit and slowly ripen. To help packers know when fruit has got to go, a biotech startup is turning to small sensors.
Could you sniff out counterfeit whiskey?
An “electronic nose” that can accurately identify a whiskey’s brand, region, and style could help combat the sale of counterfeit whiskey.
The West Coast wants to tap into the maple sugar market
Over 75% of the world’s maple syrup production is in Quebec. But with climate change threatening their seasons, West Coast producers are looking to tap in.
A new ingredient saves ice cream from being ruined by ice
Special particles in plants can prevent the formation of texture-ruining ice crystals in ice cream — and maybe help preserve donor organs.
Purple tomatoes could soon hit store shelves
Purple tomatoes modified to be packed with antioxidants found in blueberries could soon be approved for sale by the FDA.
Californian wineries turn to owls as answer for growing pest problem
Rather than turning to rodenticides to deter pests, a new study is testing the effectiveness of owls to manage the problem.
Space lettuce engineered to stimulate bone growth
To protect Mars astronauts from bone loss, scientists genetically engineered a lettuce that produces a bone-stimulating hormone.