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☆ NASA looks to spice up astronaut menu with deep space food production
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/4] A team member from Interstellar Lab of Merritt Island, Florida, prepares Daikon Radish sprouts during NASA’s Deep Space Food Challenge Phase 2 prize announcement on May 19, 2023. The NASA-sponsored Deep Space Food Challenge prompted Sheehan to modify his invention as a way of producing edible proteins, carbohydrates and fats from the same system. TASTES LIKE ... SEITANThe resulting single-cell protein drink entered in NASA's contest has the consistency of a whey protein shake, Sheehan said. But the imperative for self-contained, low-waste food production requiring minimal resources has become more pronounced as NASA sets its sights on returning astronauts to the moon and eventual human exploration of Mars and beyond. Advances in space-based food production also have direct applications for feeding Earth's ever-growing population in an era when climate change is making food more scarce and harder to produce, Fritsche said.

☆ Opinion | Let the Post-Pandemic City Grow Wild
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Ben Wilson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Every city has acres of in-between land that, if managed well, could become oases of greenery harboring insect, bird and other animal life. The rubble-strewn cities of the Second World War, to the astonishment of their inhabitants, very quickly brimmed with plant and animal life. In central Münster, Germany, piles of rubble were veiled with spontaneously growing pussy willow, mountain maple, birches, yellow mulleins and wild strawberry. Neglected sites were profuse in biodiversity, often containing many more species of plants and insects than nearby parks or even the countryside. Like the Great Trinity Forest, first it was abandoned and then hundreds of species took over, many of them endangered.

☆ Six innovations that can help feed the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Mark Tutton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN asked three experts to outline the innovations that can help increase food production without harming the planet. Insect proteinSingapore-based Insectta uses black soldier fly larvae to convert organic food waste into fertilizer and animal feed. The maggots are fed food waste, such as the byproducts of soybean factories and breweries. Don Emmert/AFP/Getty ImagesMadramootoo says that a wholescapes approach can also be applied to food production in urban and peri-urban areas – the spaces immediately surrounding a city. “In congested peri-urban areas, we can use vertical farms in warehouses or abandoned buildings, for example, to produce food.

☆ Ambitious genome project shows how humans fit with other mammals
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The findings in the ambitious Zoonomia Project identified parts of the genome functionally important in people and other mammals and showed how certain mutations can cause disease. The project revealed the genetics of uncommon mammalian traits like hibernation and showed how the sense of smell varies widely. The researchers said the findings on hibernation genetics could inform human therapeutics, critical care and long-distance space flight. The most primitive species was the venomous burrowing insect-eater Hispaniola solenodon, closely related to mammals alive during the dinosaur age. In terms of human differences from other mammals, the study pointed to regions associated with developmental and neurological genes.

☆ Sonic world of animals: Listen to an extinct bird's mating call
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

What’s sometimes lost in this feast for the eyes is the sonic world of animals — audible to humans in the case of birdsong. Source: British Library“Animals: Art, Science and Sound” showcases the British Library’s wildlife collection, which contains over 250,000 recordings of animals from around the world. Source: British LibraryThe species was declared extinct in 2000. The song of a nightingale Published by the Gramophone Company Ltd. in 1910, it was the first published recording of any animal. Source: British LibraryThe groundbreaking release marked the beginning of commercial wildlife recording that culminated in the 1970s.

☆ Overlooked No More: Elizabeth Wagner Reed, Who Resurrected Legacies of Women in Science
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Rachel May | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Though Elizabeth’s name was listed first as author, a letter of acknowledgment calling the couple’s work “truly magnificent” referred to them as “Dr. In 1950, however, she published a paper on sexism in the sciences based on her study of 70 women working in the field. It found that marriage and childbirth decreased their productivity and sometimes even dissuaded them from continuing their careers. It led her to mentor women in the field through the advocacy group Graduate Women in Science. Reed wrote that it was a testimony to the strengths of these women that they pursued science despite the fact that they were “often denied entry to colleges and unable to attain professional status.”

☆ Carnivorous plants may lure their insect prey with specialized scents
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Sarracenia pitcher plants, found in bogs throughout eastern North America, look like trumpet-shaped flowers, often in purplish or reddish hues. Different kinds of Sarracenia pitcher plants tend to eat different kinds of insects — some species trap more ants, while others feast on bees and moths. But recently opened pitcher plants that don’t stink of rotting bug carcasses provide an opportunity to identify the scents, she explained. The biggest challenge with the study, honestly, is that they did it in France,” rather than in the Sarracenia pitcher plants’ native North American bogs. It’s important to study pitcher plants due to the unique role they play in their increasingly fragile ecosystems, he added.

☆ France's Ynsect to refocus bug business after capital increase
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Sybille De La Hamaide | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Ynsect's Chairman and CEO Antoine Hubert displays mealworms at the laboratory of the insect farm Ynsect, which harvests mealworms for bug-based animal food and fertilizer, in Dole, France, October 22, 2020. Farmed bugs, such as mealworms, are ground down to produce proteins for aquaculture, livestock, pet food, fertilisers and human nutrition. Ynsect will close its Dutch production plant, acquired through the takeover of Protifarm in 2021, which rears a different type of bug, while keeping research activities. In addition the company will cut 38 jobs in France, out of a total of about 360 people, Hubert said. In its latest round of fund raising in 2020 Ynsect brought in more than 315 million euros, of which about 175 million euros was capital and the rest in debt and subsidies.

☆ ‘Renfield’ Review: Nicolas Cage Dons the Count’s Cape
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Amy Nicholson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

In an era prone to pop psychology, here lies “Renfield” on the therapist’s couch. Now, Renfield ( Nicholas Hoult ) is a co-dependent in a toxic relationship with a narcissist—that’s his master, Dracula. Not to be outdone, the vampire ( Nicolas Cage ) weaponizes the lingo of martyrdom as sharpened in feuds on “The Real Housewives.” “I’m the real victim here!” he snarls. Renfield joins a support group, brandishes a self-help book like a protective crucifix and, during a makeover montage, swaps his gothic rags for khakis. Do we believe for one second that a mass murderer would frame an inspirational poster that reads “YOLO”?

☆ Oldest-known bat skeletons shed light on evolution of flying mammals
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A few other fossil species from around this time still have that claw, but it's been lost in most living bats," Jones added. This species was closely related to two other bat species whose fossils were previously found at the same locale - Icaronycteris index and Onychonycteris finneyi. This indicates there was a greater diversity of species early in the history of bats than previously appreciated. The fossils represent the oldest-known bat skeletons - both very complete and well-preserved. The only older bat fossils are isolated teeth and jaw fragments from places including Portugal and China, dating to about 55 to 56 million years ago.

☆ A cross between domestic pigs and wild boars was intentionally bred in Canada. The resulting 'super pigs' escaped captivity and could be invading the US.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

When the market collapsed, the "super pigs" escaped and have spread rapidly across the country. The environmentally destructive pigs may be invading the US, where feral pigs already pose problems in the South. Then the boar market peaked, collapsing in 2001, and many of the super pigs were simply let go. Others escaped, as the super pigs were stronger and more adept at getting under or over fencing. But the super pigs from Canada could easily survive the frigid winters of places like Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, or Minnesota.

☆ Fact Check-Video shows an aphid, not a genetically modified mosquito ‘released by Bill Gates’
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A video circulating online shows a small sap-sucking insect called an aphid, not a genetically modified mosquito with a number stamped on it released by philanthropist Bill Gates, as online posts claim. Bill Gates was very vocal about releasing millions of GMO [genetically modified organism] mosquitos into the public.”Another example can be seen (here). However, the video shows a small insect called an aphid, not a GMO mosquito. A representative for the Gates Foundation said the claim that the video showed a genetically modified mosquito with a number or barcode stamped on it released by the Gates Foundation was false. The video shows an aphid, not a mosquito with a number stamped on it and released by Bill Gates.

☆ Fact Check-Viral clip shows tree catkins, not ‘rain of worms’ in China - scientists
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A viral clip online likely shows the catkins, or flower spikes, of poplar trees covering cars in northern China, not a “rain of worms” as social media posts and some news reports have claimed, experts told Reuters. One tweet saying: “China citizens told to find shelter after it looked like it started to rain worms” has been viewed more than 18 million times at the time of writing (here). There can be thousands of poplar catkins per tree, Claire Thomas Federici, a botanist and plant geneticist at the University of California, Riverside (here), said by email. China has a “distinctively rich” variety of trees in the poplar family, particularly in northern China, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (here), (here). Experts say the video from China likely shows catkins from poplar trees instead of a “rain” of worms or caterpillars.

☆ More than 2,000 Afghan evacuees in detention in UAE - Human Rights Watch
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Jonathan Landay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - Human Rights Watch on Wednesday accused Emirati authorities of arbitrarily detaining for more than 15 months as many as 2,700 Afghan evacuees who have no legal pathways to refugee status or resettlement elsewhere. Many of those housed in Emirates Humanitarian City are suffering from depression and other psychological ailments, have no access to legal counsel, and have inadequate educational services for their children, a Human Rights Watch report said. The report said Human Rights Watch received no responses to requests for comment from the UAE ministries of interior and foreign affairs. Emirati officials previously have said the UAE offered to temporarily host thousands of Afghan refugees evacuated after the Taliban takeover of Kabul in August 2021. "Emirati authorities have kept thousands of Afghan asylum seekers locked up for over 15 months in cramped, miserable conditions with no hope of progress on their cases," said Joey Shea, Human Rights Watch's UAE researcher.

☆ Are Butterflies Wildlife? Depends Where You Live.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +10 min

The creatures are simply left out of state conservation statues, or their situation is ambiguous. “State agencies are really at the forefront of conservation for wildlife,” said Scott Black, executive director of the Xerces Society, a nonprofit group that advocates for insect conservation. Sometimes, aquatic insects come under the purview of state wildlife agencies. But across the states without insect authority, officials are often reluctant to broach adding it, Mr. Winton said. Seven of the states without insect conservation authority are in the West, which has felt the effects of climate change intensely.

☆ Explainer: Biotech corn and soy widely used, consumers still wary of GM wheat
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Julie Ingwersen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But genetically modified wheat has never been grown for commercial purposes due to consumer fears that allergens or toxicities could emerge in a staple used worldwide for bread, pasta and pastries. Australia grows and exports GM cotton and canola, and the country in May approved Bioceres’ biotech wheat for use in foods. Mexico, among the largest buyers of U.S. corn, has said it will halt GM corn imports for human consumption, but walked back a deadline to ban the corn for animal feed. Recent disruptions to global wheat supplies have brought a new degree of urgency to the debate over biotech wheat. Wheat Associates and the National Association of Wheat Growers, support “the eventual commercialization” of biotech wheat, according to their websites, provided that plans are implemented to minimize market disruptions.

☆ To survive nuclear apocalypse, you may have to eat nothing but mushrooms, rats, and insects
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Survivors could farm mushrooms on dead trees, or eat rats and insects. In order to survive, he says, people would need to adopt sunlight-free agriculture — cultivating mushrooms, rats, and insects. Vincent Kessler/ReutersWhile we're using the wood to grow mushrooms, we could use the dead trees' leaves, too, he said. Dead trees can feed other life forms, like rats and insectsRats, much like mushrooms, can digest cellulose, the sugar that makes up 50% of wood. So anything the mushrooms leave behind could be fed to the rats, Walsh suggests.

[1/5] View of boats stuck in a sea with invasive green water hyacinth weed at the Hartbeespoort dam, informally known as "Harties", a small resort town in the North West Province of South Africa, February 16, 2023. REUTERS/Shafiek TassiemHARTBEESPOORT, South Africa, March 1 (Reuters) - The Hartbeespoort dam in South Africa used to be brimming with people enjoying scenic landscapes and recreational water sports. Now, the visitors are greeted to the sight of boats stuck in a sea of invasive green water hyacinth weed. Scientists and community members have, however, found a unique way to deal with the invasion by introducing a water hyacinth eating bug called Megamelus scutellaris. The insect army has previously reduced the expanse of water hyacinths to a mere 5% on the dam, Coetzee said.

☆ ‘Remnants of Ancient Life’ Review: The Microscopic Past
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( David P. Barash | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

For most of us, the word “fossil” conjures up old bones, dinosaurs and museums. Dale E. Greenwalt’s “Remnants of Ancient Life: The New Science of Old Fossils” offers a fascinating corrective. Mr. Greenwalt, a researcher at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, is no stranger to dinosaurs and their ilk, but his focus is on prehistoric insects and the biochemistry of ancient life forms. It is the latter research—the burgeoning study of ancient biomolecules—that is the most exciting “new science” highlighted in the book’s subtitle. “Remnants of Ancient Life” is an eye-opening guide to this new world of understanding, one that encompasses chemistry along with biology.

☆ Disney’s New ‘Ant-Man’ Movie Brings in Over $100 Million on Opening Weekend
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Robbie Whelan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Paul Rudd continues his role as Ant-Man in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.’Ant-Man often bests his enemies by shrinking to the size of an insect or growing as tall as a skyscraper, as the situation demands. The character’s ticket sales seem to be supersizing with each new movie that comes out. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” from Walt Disney Co.’s Marvel Studios, overcame middling reviews from critics to earn $104 million in domestic ticket sales in its debut, making it the third-highest grossing February release ever, after the 2016 superhero comedy “Deadpool” and Marvel’s 2018 blockbuster “Black Panther,” according to box-office tracker Comscore.

☆ Cruz Foam makes styrofoam alternative from shrimp shells and food waste
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Meanwhile, companies that ship or sell fragile goods, food or medical supplies that need to stay cold during shipping still need materials with the lightweight, insulating qualities and manufacturability of styrofoam. That's where startup Cruz Foam comes in. Cruz Foam is made from naturally occurring materials including chitin (pronounced like "kite-in") along with starches and fibers diverted from agricultural waste streams. Chitin is a polymer contained in the shells of shrimp and other crustaceans, as well as insect exoskeletons. Besides that, styrofoam products are usually treated with flame retardants and can absorb other pollutants from water around them, increasing the threat to any wildlife that eats or lives amid the discarded styrofoam.

☆ Bayer says chemicals farmers use to fight insects are safe, but it's more complicated than that, says its ESG head
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The European Union, also in 2018, banned some pesticides that Bayer makes because scientists and regulators linked them to deaths of bees. "It felt like we were on the grill at a barbecue," Kunz, Bayer's head of environmental, social, and governance strategy, told Insider. Beyond neonicotinoids, Kunz said Bayer's strategy to meet its environmental targets involved what he called a more systems-based approach. Bayer also makes digital tools that help farmers apply fertilizer and pesticides more precisely, which can dramatically reduce how much they're needed, Kunz said. Bayer's sustainability efforts are attracting at least some ESG investors and ratings firms.

☆ This Y Combinator-backed startup wants to help scale the nascent insect protein sector. Check out the 15-slide pitch deck Entocycle used to raise $5 million.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Insect protein could displace 20% of the UK's annual soy imports for animal feed by 2050. We got an exclusive look at the 15-slide deck Entocycle used to raise the Series A round. A Y Combinator-backed startup that has developed insect farming technology to help scale the nascent sector has just nabbed $5 million from European climate tech fund Climentum Capital. Insect protein has long been tipped as a way to alleviate pressure on the food system amid a growing population that is also grappling with climate change. Global insect protein startups raised just $146 million in venture capital in 2022, compared with $200 million the year prior, according to PitchBook.

☆ China lets Marvel movies back in, sets dates for Black Panther, Ant-Man sequels
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Danielle Broadway | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LOS ANGELES, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co's (DIS.N) Marvel Studios on Tuesday announced February release dates for "Black Panther" and "Ant-Man" sequels in China, marking the first time in nearly four years that the Communist country has allowed Marvel movies into its cinemas. "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" will arrive in Chinese theaters on Feb. 7 followed by "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" on Feb. 17, Marvel announced on Chinese social media network Weibo. "Wakanda: Forever," the sequel to 2018's blockbuster hit "Black Panther," debuted in global theaters in November. The first "Black Panther" took in $105 million at Chinese theaters, while the second "Ant-Man" movie generated $121 million, according to Box Office Mojo. The February releases will be the first Marvel films to play in Chinese theaters since "Spider-Man: Far from Home" in July 2019.

☆ School lunch, eggs and airfare: Why inflation soared for 10 items in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here's a look at the 10 items with the largest price gains, as measured by the annual inflation rate in December. Food at school: 305.2%The price of a meal at elementary and secondary schools spiked the most in 2022, by a whopping 305%. Overall food prices have been pressured on many fronts, too, funneling into school meals. Oil prices retreated in the second half of the year, though, as fears mounted of a possible recession and an accompanying weakness in oil demand. Monthly milk production among major suppliers fell each month from September 2021 to June 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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