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☆ What are endocrine-disrupting chemicals? Experts explain
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-29 | by ( Madeline Holcombe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The question is how worried should people be about these endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), such as phthalates, BPA or bisphenol A, and brominated flame retardants? Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are not produced by the human body but influence the way your hormones function, Bloom said. CNN reached out to the National Pest Management Association and the Personal Care Products Council for comment. Gradually replacing personal care products one at a time as you use up individual products is a great place to start, she said. “But personal care products is one thing where I think folks have a lot of autonomy and what they’re purchasing within reason.”

Persons: United States –, Michael Bloom, Bloom, ” Bloom, Alexa Friedman, ”, ” Friedman, Natalie Shaw, “, Friedman, – Friedman Organizations: CNN, George Mason University College of Public Health, Environmental, Cleveland Clinic, Endocrine Society, “, Pediatric Neuroendocrinology Group, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Pesticides, National Pest Management Association, Care Products Council, US Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, allergists, Mayo Clinic Locations: United States, EDCs, Fairfax , Virginia

☆ Vineyards Use AI, IoT Tools to Make Wine Effectively, Sustainably
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( Bella Sayegh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

The company's president and winemaker, Chris Kajani, wanted to stay connected with customers and distributors amid shutdowns and social-distancing practices. AdvertisementIn March 2020, Kajani started reworking her operations, hosting virtual tastings, keeping in contact with members of the vineyard's wine club, and meeting with distribution partners using a Cisco videoconferencing platform. Chris Kajani, the winemaker and president of Bouchaine Vineyards, is using technology to improve harvesting. Jyotsna Bhamidipati for BIRemy, a former wine technical consultant, said that buying wine without knowing what's good can be overwhelming. AI-powered tools are making headway in the commercial wine market by helping vineyards find optimal wine blends.

Persons: Chris Kajani, Kajani, Vintners, McClenehan, Alexandre Remy, Remy, Jyotsna, Vaughn Walton, Walton, Piper, Pied Piper, Katerina Axelsson, Axelsson Organizations: Cisco, Bouchaine, Atlas Wine, Oregon Wine Research, Oregon, University's Oregon Wine Research Institute, OSU, BI Remy Locations: Napa , California, Bouchaine, Somerset , California, Oregon, California, America, Walton

☆ The Asian longhorned tick spreading across the US can clone itself thousands of times and even kill cattle
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The ticks turned out to be an invasive species, the Asian longhorned tick, newly established in Ohio. The curious case of the dead cattleAsian longhorned ticks are tiny and can be difficult to distinguish between other species. Risa Pesapane/Ohio State UniversityPesapane and her colleagues suggest the Ohio cattle died from blood loss. Asian longhorned ticks are hard to spot, contain, and killTiny and brown, the ALT is hard to distinguish from other types of ticks, making it difficult to spot. AdvertisementCattle are the preferred meal of Asian longhorned ticks.

Persons: —, Risa Pesapane, Pesapane, It's, Oleksandr Melnyk, Kevin Lahmers, Lahmers, Joellen Lampman, Lampman, Ohio State University Pesapane, it's, There's, Ikeda Organizations: Service, Ohio State, Medical Entomology, Pesapane, US Department of Agriculture, Getty Images, Virginia - Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ohio State University, Plant Health, Yale School of Public Health Locations: Ohio, West Virginia, But Ohio, East Asia, Virginia, United States, New Zealand, North Carolina, Lyme, Rocky

☆ Parasitic worms highjack their hosts' free will, and scientists finally think they know how
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Emily Hein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Horsehair worms can control a host's brain and steer it to water, where it drowns. These parasitic worms, which resemble dark and stringy horse hair, take control of their host's brain and drive it to suicide. Hairworms' magic copy-cat trickHairworms need water to reproduce, so when they're ready they force their host to water, where ultimately the host drowns. Horsehair worms make their hosts more active in the middle of the day , when it's easier to find light reflecting off water. So the Chordodes worms can only control mantises and can't puppeteer other insects or mammals, according to the study.

Persons: what's, —, they're, it's, hairworms, Tappei Mishina, Hairworms, Rather, Mishina Organizations: Service, University of California's, Pest Management

☆ NYC's new rat-killing weapon is wildly successful — for now
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

New York City's new rat-killing method has wiped out rats on a strip in the Upper East Side. The method involves pumping carbon monoxide into rat burrows, ultimately suffocating the rodents inside. Still, it will likely take a lot more than that to take out New York City's rats for good. Munshi-South said similar methods have been used in the past, including with dry ice in parks in lower Manhattan that had hundreds of rat burrows. The carbon monoxide method can also only be used in a well-ventilated, outdoor area to avoid poisoning the person applying it or other people, Munshi-South said.

Persons: —, Matt Deodato, Jason Munshi, Deodato, Munshi, they're Organizations: Service, Urban Pest Management, Fordham University Locations: York, York City, New York, Manhattan, New York City

☆ A rat exterminator who's helped successfully eliminate nearly 100% of rats in a section of NYC says people clap, cheer, and offer him free beer when he comes around
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

New York City has millions of rats. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementAdvertisementThere are millions of rats in New York City. Matt Deodato, the owner of Urban Pest Management, told Insider he's killed thousands of rats with the method. A rat climbs into a box with food in it on the platform at the Herald Square subway station in New York City.

Persons: Matt Deodato, —, he's, Deodato, He's, chewers, New York City Bethany Brookshire, Val Curtis, Michael Parsons, Mongabay, Parsons, Gary Hershorn Organizations: Service, Urban Pest Management, London School of Hygiene, Tropical Medicine, Geographic, Herald, Smithsonian Locations: York City, New York City, New York

☆ NYC exterminators' new weapon has eliminated nearly 100% of rats from over 100 burrows — and they already have their next targets mapped out
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

New York City officials have found a new effective way to kill rats. The strategy involves pumping carbon monoxide directly into the rat burrows that are found in sidewalk tree beds. Deodato uses the carbon monoxide method to suffocate the rats, with the help of a machine called BurrowRX, which costs about $3,000. Gothamist reported Menin has since set aside $30,000 to fund the carbon monoxide technique. In addition to the carbon monoxide method, the city has also tried spring traps, poisons, and rat birth control.

Persons: —, Councilmember Julie Menin, Menin, Ibrahim Asmal, exterminator Matt Deodato, Matt, Deodato, Gothamist, Eric Adams Organizations: Service, New York Daily, Urban Pest Management Locations: York City, New York, East, York

Meanwhile, two indoor farming companies that attracted strong startup money — New Jersey's AeroFarms and Kentucky's AppHarvest — filed for bankruptcy reorganization. Advocates say growing indoors uses less water and land and allows food to be grown closer to consumers, saving on transport. Tom Kimmerer, a plant physiologist who taught at the University of Kentucky, has tracked indoor farming alongside his research into the growth of plants both outdoors and inside. He said some companies may be struggling to scale up, with problems that come from launching in spaces that aren't necessarily built specifically for indoor farming. Several of the companies say they're on the right track.

Persons: AppHarvest —, Jacob Portillo, Eden Green, that’s, ”, It's, they’re, Tom Kimmerer, “, Kimmerer, Hannah Burrack, you’re, ” Burrack, Evan Lucas, he's, Lucas, Eden, Eddy Badrina, Arama Kukutai, Matt Ryan, Curt Covington, isn't, “ It's, ” Covington, ___ Walling, Joshua A, Bickel, ___, Melina Walling Organizations: Eden Green Technology, Kroger, University of Kentucky, Michigan State University, Northern Michigan University, Eden Green, Walmart, AgAmerica, Associated Press, AP Locations: CLEBURNE, Texas, Dallas, Eden, Cleburne, California, Detroit, Elmwood, Farm, Lexington , Kentucky, Plenty, Chicago, Georgetown , Kentucky, Georgetown, ___

☆ Spider mite males ‘undress’ their partners to mate ASAP
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Spider mites are tiny arachnids, distant cousins of spiders, smaller than the tip of a standard ballpoint pen. Living together in dense colonies can make for fierce competition in finding a mate, especially because female spider mites only use the sperm from the first male with which they mate. Males will guard females that are nearly mature, so that as soon as the females are set to mate, the males will be ready. While farmers and gardeners often revile spider mites as plant-eating pests, many biologists use them as model organisms. “I hope they are fascinated about what type of sophisticated behaviors have evolved, even in such tiny animals as spider mites,” he said.

Persons: Dr, Peter Schausberger, ”, Schausberger, —, doesn’t, ” Schausberger, Tomasz Klejdysz, Yukie Sato, ” Sato, There’s, that’s, Rebecca Schmidt, Kate Golembiewski Organizations: CNN, University of Vienna, University of Tsukuba, US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service Locations: Japan, Chicago

Here are some of the key areas agreed on after two weeks of negotiations hosted in Montreal, Canada. CONSERVATION, PROTECTION AND RESTORATIONDelegates committed to protecting 30% of land and 30% of coastal and marine areas by 2030, fulfilling the deal's highest-profile goal, known as 30-by-30. Wealthier countries should contribute at least $20 billion of this every year by 2025, and at least $30 billion a year by 2030. BIG COMPANIES REPORT IMPACTS ON BIODIVERSITYCompanies should analyse and report how their operations affect and are affected by biodiversity issues. This reporting is intended to progressively promote biodiversity, reduce the risks posed to business by the natural world, and encourage sustainable production.

☆ Trapview: Can an AI-powered insect trap solve a $220 billion pest problem?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Tom Page | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN Business —Pests destroy up to 40% of the world’s crops each year, causing $220 billion in economic losses, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Trapview is harnessing the power of AI to help tackle the problem. Targeted interventionsThe automated devices have been used to monitor grapes, tomatoes, olives, tree fruits, and, pictured here, brassicas. Štefančič says that Trapview can significantly reduce the use of chemical sprays and the need for farmers to visit their fields. Trapview says it has sold over 7,500 devices in more than 50 countries since it launched in 2012.

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