Can scientists make fruits and veggies resilient to climate change?
In 2023, a new type of apple made its commercial debut at a trade show in Berlin. The Tutti is crisp, juicy and has that perfect blush tinge — a lovely cultivar that took decades to produce. But it has a bigger claim to fame: It is designed to thrive at temperatures as high as…
Florida’s ban on lab-grown meat challenged as unconstitutional
Upside Foods Florida’s ban on cultivated meat is being challenged in federal court in a lawsuit that was filed yesterday. The case is being brought by the cultivated meat firm Upside Foods and the Institute of Justice (IJ), a nonprofit public interest law firm. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the legislation making the sale of…
50 years ago, scientists ID’d a threat to California wine country
Science News was founded in 1921 as an independent, nonprofit source of accurate information on the latest news of science, medicine and technology. Today, our mission remains the same: to empower people to evaluate the news and the world around them. It is published by the Society for Science, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization dedicated…
Nitrogen-using bacteria can cut farms’ greenhouse gas emissions
Fritz Haber: good guy or bad guy? He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918 for his part in developing the Haber-Bosch process, a method for generating ammonia using the nitrogen gas in air. The technique freed agriculture from the constraint of needing to source guano or manure for nitrogen fertilizer and is widely…
Chocolate made with fewer calories, less waste
Commercialization has not dealt kindly with the Mayan Food of the Gods. Modern chocolate products are filled with sugar and calories, contributing to the obesity epidemic in the West. And the cocoa crop is hardly in great shape; climate change is decreasing production, causing prices to rise; farmers in West Africa have responded by clear-cutting…
Some states are now trying to ban lab-grown meat
Enlarge / Cell-cultivated chicken is made in the pictured tanks at the Eat Just office on July 27, 2023, in Alameda, Calif. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Months in jail and thousands of dollars in fines and legal fees—those are the consequences Alabamians and Arizonans could soon face for selling cell-cultured meat products that could cut into…
What makes an orange? New study finds one gene, seven chemicals
In the US, for orange juice to be labeled as such, it must be 90 percent sweet orange, or Citrus sinensis. Thus, citrus producers in the US have long planted 90 percent Citrus sinensis. But this cultivar is extremely susceptible to the bacteria that causes citrus greening disease, which has devastated the near-monocultural Florida crop.…
Gardeners are fuming about a study that found produce from urban...
A University of Michigan study found that urban-farmed produce has six times the carbon footprint of conventional farms.The study faced backlash from advocates and students, saying it overlooked broader environmental harms of industrial farming.Some gardeners are reevaluating their practices, focusing on sustainability and local biodiversity. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a…
This indoor farming company is trying to win workers over to...
Eden Green uses high-tech systems to grow greens indoors and reduce the unpredictability of farming.The company also aims to draw workers by offering health insurance, paid leave, and a 401(k).By moving agriculture closer to urban centers, it can find workers and distribute food more easily. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a…
Mixing up root microbes can boost tea’s flavor
Researchers may have gotten to the root of tea’s soothing effect. The quality of a cup of chai can be enriched by modifying the microbial community that populates the plant’s roots, researchers report February 15 in Current Biology. The secret is to inoculate roots with bacteria that boost the synthesis of the amino acid theanine.
