New Atlas

Science Audio available

Bioengineered rice delivers significant increases in grain yields

Rich Haridy January 13, 2019

Research has demonstrated a novel technique to enhance photosynthetic efficiency in rice crops can increase grain yields by up to 27 percent. The study follows other recent demonstrations of food bioengineering designed to enhance worldwide food productivity by improving the photosynthesis process.

On the far left is a wild, unenhanced rice plant, and the other three display improved ...

Around The Home Audio available

Samsung's 2019 smart fridges go back to the drawing board

Michael Irving January 10, 2019

Samsung has unveiled the latest Family Hub fridges at CES 2019, with the main new addition being a Family Board screen dedicated to posting photos and messages, and support for the latest version of the Bixby voice assistant.

Samsung has updated the Family Hub fridge for 2019

Science Audio available

Reawakening chili genes could serve up spicy tomatoes

Rich Haridy January 7, 2019

A new opinion article has outlined how tomatoes could be genetically engineered to produce capsaicinoids, the spicy compound found in chilies. The scientists suggest the innovation would be geared towards an efficient and easier way to mass produce capsaicinoids for commercial purposes.

Tomatoes could hypothetically be gene-edited to produce the same spicy compounds found in hot chili peppers

Robotics

BreadBot automated breadmaker bakes up a storm at CES

David Szondy January 7, 2019

This year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada is enjoying the smell of freshly baked bread thanks to the Walla Walla, Washington-based Wilkinson Baking Company's BreadBot. Making its public debut at CES, the fully automated bread-making machine can crank out 10 loaves per hour.

The BreadBot is designed for grocery stores and other locations

Electronics Audio available

Pocket scanner blasts food with infrared light to determine its freshness

David Szondy January 3, 2019

Every year, millions of tonnes of perfectly good food are wasted around the world because people aren't sure it's still fresh. To cut down on this, researchers at Fraunhofer are developing an infrared pocket scanner that will let food handlers determine if a food item has gone bad.

A pocket scanner under development at Fraunhofer relies infrared light to determine the freshness of food

Science

Scientists hack plant photosynthesis to boost crop yields by 40%

Rich Haridy January 3, 2019

A team of researchers has, for the first time, demonstrated that by fixing a common glitch in photosynthesis, a crop’s yield could be improved by around 40 percent. The landmark study suggests optimizing a plant’s photosynthetic efficiency could significantly increase worldwide food productivity.

The genetically modified crops grow faster and taller than their conventional counterparts

Medical Audio available

Incredible battery-free implant battles obesity by suppressing appetite

Rich Haridy December 17, 2018

A remarkable new implantable device developed by engineers at University of Wisconsin–Madison promises a new way to battle obesity. By gently stimulating a nerve that links the stomach to the brain, the device tricks your brain into thinking you're full.

Graduate student Guang Yao (left) and Xudong Wang (right) hold a small implantable device that helped ...

Environment Audio available

Aleph Farms serves up world's first lab-grown steak

Rich Haridy December 12, 2018

Israel-based Aleph Farms has just unveiled the world's first lab-grown steak. This milestone on the road to bringing a cruelty-free meat product to the market demonstrates, for the first time, the technology's ability to imitate the flavor, shape, texture and structure of a classic beef steak.

The world's first lab-grown steak takes about three weeks to grow from an initial cellular sample

Health & Wellbeing Audio available

Not all carbs are bad: Study shows high-carb diets can promote healthy brain aging

Rich Haridy November 21, 2018

From low-carb/high-fat diets to more restrictive ketogenic regimes, it seems the growing consensus has become “carbs are bad.” However, a new study from the University of Sydney suggests a low-protein/high-carb diet can improve brain health, perhaps even slowing the onset of dementia.

Less meat and more complex carbohydrates may help healthy brain aging as well, or in some ...

Environment Audio available

New straw is reusable, "chewable" and spin-dryable

Michael Irving November 15, 2018

The drinking straw seems pretty simple and unassuming, but it’s contributing to one of the most pressing environmental problems today. To help cut back on that, a start-up in Singapore is getting ready to launch the Chew, a reusable straw with a “chewable” rubber tip and a spin-dry mechanism.

The Chew straw is a reusable straw with a silicone "chewable" tip