Tag Archives: Vegetables

New types of vegetables can be developed through plant skin grafting

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Keygene’s new potato variety (center) has pimpernel (left) skin and Bintje meat (right)

Provided by Keygene

New techniques for producing fruits and vegetables with one varieties of skin and another meaty skin can make crops more resistant due to pests and droughts.

Many of the fruits and vegetables we eat come from grafted plants created by blocking off one plant and replacing it with another plant. What makes grafting useful is that even plants that are too far associated with hybridization can be implanted together. For example, you can graft the desired variety of fruit plants onto another type of rootstock that is resistant to pests and diseases.

Very occasionally, buds arise from the junction between grafted plants, two strange mixtures called graft chimeras, with the outer layer of one plant and the inside of another plant. This can occur because shoots arise from three different stem cell layers at the tip, one of which forms the skin of the plant. Coincidentally, shoots from the graft junction result in a mixture of stem cell types from two plants.

Usually, to create a specific type of grafted plant, you need to run the graft for each graft you want to grow. However, graft chimeras can be reproduced by taking cuttings from them, or simply from tubers.

However, researchers sometimes deliberately created graft chimera, but that’s not easy. Many known graft chimeras, such as Bizzarria Citrus, are very rare and accidental by-products of traditional grafts.

now, Jeroen Stuurman At Kigen, a Dutch crop technology company, he says he was the first to develop a reliable method of producing graft chimera. He won’t reveal any details about this method, but he says he used it to create many different graft chimeras from the types of potatoes, tomatoes and aubenin, and between sweet and chili peppers.

In the case of one graft thimella potato with a type of skin called pimpanell and another meaty skin called vintee, keygene is awarded the right of a plant breeder, that is, the right to horticultural, equivalent to copyright. This is the first time for a graft chimera. Getting these rights indicates that producing them is a potentially viable business, Suurman says. “For us, this was a signal that we could move on to the next step.”

The company is currently planning to create graft chimeras with properties such as resistance to pests and diseases. Pest resistance is often due to hair-like structures called trichomes on the surface of plants, which can secrete repellents or sticky substances to trap insects, Stuurman said. Trichomes are very difficult to move between plant varieties with traditional reproduction and genetic engineering, as many genes are involved, but his method effectively gives existing varieties “skin grafts.”

Potatoes are already grown from tubers rather than seeds, so if farmers choose, they could start growing such graft chimera tomorrow, Stuurman said. “There’s no need to change the way things grow.”

“It’s really interesting to be able to create a stable graft chimeras with commercially relevant properties.” Charles Menick At the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. “I don’t know that this has been done before, so their findings are really important.”

Graft chimeras tend to be unstable. So you can go back to one of the original forms, but the keygene must have overcome this to get the plant breeders right, says Colin Turn Bull Imperial College London. “The novelty appears to be the stability of “skin grafting,” and there are marketable types. ”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Can this method encourage children to eat their vegetables?

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Bold as a Crucifer

What effect might it have on adolescents and young children to see the positive expressions on the faces of strangers eating raw broccoli?

Katie Edwards of Aston University in the UK, along with colleagues from the same university and the University of Birmingham, also in the UK, set out to find out.

journal appetite The first-hand account of that adventure is Seeing the model's positive facial expression while eating raw vegetables encourages children to accept and consume the model vegetables.” “.

There's no need to mince words about what they found: in their own words, “Contrary to our hypothesis, the facial expression of the model while eating broccoli did not significantly affect their initial willingness to try it.”

Circle of Life

In the 1960s, young intellectuals in the West encouraged each other to adopt the philosophy and path of Zen Buddhism. They were encouraged to “walk the Zen path” and “become one with the universe” in order to live a thoughtful, wise and good life.

Sixty years later, thinking and conversation have advanced.

No alternative to this has been widely adopted in the West in the 2020s, but feedback suggests a Venn diagram.

Like Zen, Venn diagrams aim to provide a simpler understanding of seemingly complex things. Venn diagram masters might describe the practice like this: Venn diagrams use overlapping circles or similar shapes to show logical relationships between different types of items.

Adopt the philosophy and method of the Venn diagram. Recognize and nurture the overlaps in your life. Draw a Venn diagram of the characteristics of all the people, places, and things in your life from birth to the present. The Venn diagram overlaps will reveal commonalities. Embrace them. Identify with the few.

Ven, let's go.

The talent for titration

Psychics, whether trivial or not, have a reputation for being either you get it all or you get nothing. John Hancock tells Feedback about an exception to that, perhaps a partial exception:

He says, “I can consistently pour almost half a 339ml bottle of beer so that the height of the beer in two identical glasses is within 1mm, 2mm at most. I can do this in one go, unassisted, and I seem to know when to stop pouring.”

(Feedback: The name Hancock is well known to Americans. On January 4, 1776, the late John Hancock signed the Declaration of Independence, a document that egged on Britain. Hancock wrote it in such large, bold letters that his name became synonymous with “a man's handwritten signature.” In the U.S., people still say “Sign John Hancock.” The late John Hancock, unlike today's John Hancock, hated doing things by halves.)

Questionable discomfort

A recent addition to Feedback's collection is called “The Title Tells You Everything You Need to Know.”

“The pain one may experience when executed in various ways” probably came as a surprise to magazine readers. Sensing It was published in 1993, and in 1997 Harold Hillman of the University of Surrey in the UK was awarded the Ig Nobel Peace Prize.

If you've come across similarly impressive examples, please submit them to Telltale titles, c/o Feedback, along with citation details.

Teflon Diet

Teflon, prized as a “non-stick” coating for frying pans and other cookware, may become a common additive to foods, especially in weight-control diets.

A study published in 2022 titled “Engineering Properties of Teflon-Derived Blends and Composites: A Review” makes this immediately clear in one slightly enigmatic sentence: “The amount of Teflon reduced the calorie content of the food and satisfactory results were observed that were accepted by the community.“This sentence refers to a paper published in 2016. Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology.

The 2016 paper has an intelligent and intriguing title:Consuming polytetrafluoroethylene is a way to increase food volume and feel full without increasing calorie content.“US authors Rotem Naftalovich, Daniel Naftalovich and Frank Greenway explain that polytetrafluoroethylene (also known as PTFE or Teflon) is a plastic. They claim its benefits: “Animal feeding studies showed that rats fed a diet of 25% PTFE for 90 days showed no signs of toxicity and lost weight.”

They further hypothesized that “incorporating PTFE powder into foods (1 part food to 1 part PTFE) and increasing the portion size of the food would significantly increase satiety and decrease caloric intake.”

Polytetrafluoroethylene “does not impart flavor (as evidenced by its use in tongue piercings) and therefore does not affect the taste of food,” they write, and is “highly inert, meaning it does not react with food in the body.”

This makes it an “ideal ingredient to use as a bulking agent for foods that are not metabolized” and can be used in foods that don't make you feel stuffed.

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You can submit articles for Feedback by emailing feedback@newscientist.com. Please include your home address. This week's and past Feedback can be found on our website.

Source: www.newscientist.com

Half of all fruits and vegetables are now contaminated with the “forever chemical” – what are the implications?

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The presence of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), commonly known as “forever chemicals,” has been reported in various locations, including more than half of fruit and vegetable samples tested in the UK. This has led to increasing calls for the ban of pesticides containing these chemicals. But what are the health risks associated with consuming fruits and vegetables containing PFAS?

Understanding “Forever Chemicals”

PFAS are not a single chemical but a group of over 10,000 compounds with strong carbon and fluorine bonds. Examples include PFOS, PFOA, and PFHxS. These chemicals are used in the production of textiles, food packaging, nonstick surfaces, and pesticides due to their stability against heat, oil, and water. However, their poor biodegradability allows them to persist in the environment and human bodies for extended periods.

The Health Risks of PFAS

Ongoing research suggests that high exposure to certain PFAS compounds may lead to health issues such as increased cholesterol levels, thyroid and liver function impairment, adverse pregnancy outcomes, and a higher risk of certain cancers. While some governments have imposed restrictions on PFAS use, complete bans are rare as risks vary based on factors like exposure levels and individual health characteristics.

It’s essential to note that not all PFAS chemicals pose the same health risks, and exposure to high doses is typically required to observe harmful effects. Monitoring of PFAS levels in food is critical, with most samples in the UK containing PFAS below legal limits.

Reducing Risk and Ensuring Safety

Eating a diverse diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and grains can help reduce PFAS absorption and accumulation in the body. Washing produce thoroughly and peeling where necessary can also lower pesticide residue intake. While organic farming may reduce the presence of detectable residues, PFAS can still be found in organic produce due to environmental contamination.

Choosing locally grown, seasonal foods can further limit pesticide exposure and promote sustainable farming practices. It’s crucial to continue researching PFAS and other potentially harmful chemicals while also exploring safe and efficient methods for food production to sustain global food needs.

It’s important to approach food safety with caution, avoiding unnecessary fear or sweeping generalizations. While risks exist, proper awareness and informed choices can help mitigate potential health hazards associated with PFAS and other chemicals.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com