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Archive for the ‘food’ category: Page 146

Nov 7, 2020

Female-to-male sex conversion in Ceratitis capitata

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

The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is based on the mass release of sterilized male insects to reduce the pest population size via infertile mating. Critical for all SIT programs is a conditional sexing strain to enable the cost-effective production of male-only populations. Compared to current female-elimination strategies based on killing or sex sorting, generating male-only offspring via sex conversion would be economically beneficial by doubling the male output. Temperature-sensitive mutations known from the D. melanogaster transformer-2 gene (tra2ts) induce sex conversion at restrictive temperatures, while regular breeding of mutant strains is possible at permissive temperatures. Since tra2 is a conserved sex determination gene in many Diptera, including the major agricultural pest Ceratitis capitata, it is a promising candidate for the creation of a conditional sex conversion strategy in this Tephritid. Here, CRISPR/Cas9 homology-directed repair was used to induce the D. melanogaster-specific tra2ts SNPs in Cctra2. 100% female to male conversion was successfully achieved in flies homozygous for the tra2ts2 mutation. However, it was not possible, to identify a permissive temperature for the mutation allowing the rearing of a tra2ts2 homozygous line, as lowering the temperature below 18.5 °C interferes with regular breeding of the flies.

Nov 5, 2020

Israeli anti-algae technology to save Florida waterways

Posted by in category: food

Florida will use BlueGreen Water Technologies’ treatment to stop harmful algae blooms in Lake Okeechobee from reaching the state’s waterways.

Lake Okeechobee, also known as Florida’s Inland Sea, is the state’s largest freshwater lake. It has become overrun by cyanobacterial blooms (“blue green algae”) that render the water toxic for drinking and agriculture. It’s also not safe to eat fish from the lake or to swim in its waters.

Left untreated, cyanobacterial blooms can hijack all the resources in a lake or reservoir and turn it a dead aquatic zone.

Nov 5, 2020

Scientists induce “suspended animation” state in mice and rats

Posted by in categories: food, space

Some animals, like mice and birds, are able to bring their body temperature and metabolism way down to conserve energy, going into a sleep-like state called torpor. Now researchers have identified the brain cells that trigger this state, showing they can activate it on demand. The team was even able to do it in rats, which don’t normally do it at all, suggesting that such a “suspended animation” state might eventually be possible in humans.

Torpor seems to have evolved as a survival strategy during times of food scarcity, allowing animals to snooze through cold nights or even entire winters without wasting too much energy keeping their body temperature up. That of course allows them to survive until things warm up again, and food becomes more plentiful.

Scientists have toyed with the idea of inducing this kind of hibernation state in humans to reduce the resources and room required for long treks into space. Now researchers at Harvard and the University of Tsukuba in Japan may have made progress towards doing just that.

Oct 30, 2020

Slower Biological Aging In People On A Calorie Restricted Diet

Posted by in categories: biological, food, life extension

Here’s my latest video!


Calorie restriction (CR) is well known to extend average and maximal lifespan in a variety of animal models, but what about in people? In this video, I present evidence showing that CR slows biological aging, which suggests that CR will positively affect lifespan in people.

Oct 29, 2020

Israeli start-up makes vertical farms to grow crops in city parking lots

Posted by in categories: food, sustainability

Vertical farms subvert the space limitations of cities by allowing for portable, shipping container-esque produce farms that can operate in any urban environment.

Oct 29, 2020

Would you like “milk” with that Impossible burger?

Posted by in category: food

Hello World. I’m Imagination. In this video, I’m going to talk about Milk and Impossible Burger. Impossibl…

Oct 29, 2020

This Chinese restaurant uses robots to serve food

Posted by in categories: food, robotics/AI

Robotic waiters.


This restaurant hires robots to serve food.

Oct 28, 2020

South Korean dog meat farms closing as attitudes change

Posted by in categories: food, sustainability

This was the 17th farm closure in South Korea that HSI has facilitated, and the latest indication that the market for dog meat, a traditional delicacy in South Korea, is rapidly declining.

Oct 26, 2020

Clavius Crater Water Found in Sunny Lunar Regolith

Posted by in categories: food, habitats, space

NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) discovered water on the sunlit surface of the Moon. This discovery indicates that water may be distributed across the lunar surface, and not limited to cold, shadowed places. This water was detected in Clavius Crater, yes the very same crater featured in the movie 2001 a Space Odyssey as the site of the lunar monolith. In reality this crater’s discovery my spur space exploration, development, and settlement. Find out how in this video.

You can support Galactic Gregs by supporting the sister channel Green Gregs by clicking the links below:
See the Special Deals at My Patriot Supply (great space mission food): www.PrepWithGreg.com
For gardening in your space habitat (or on Earth) Galactic Gregs has teamed up with True Leaf Market to bring you a great selection of seed for your planting. Check it out: http://www.pntrac.com/t/TUJGRklGSkJGTU1IS0hCRkpIRk1K

Continue reading “Clavius Crater Water Found in Sunny Lunar Regolith” »

Oct 26, 2020

Say goodbye to the beloved banana

Posted by in categories: food, genetics

This doesn’t sound good. 🙁


Those bananas you love are Cavendish bananas, and they’re probably about to go extinct.