fruit – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Bio-inspired Fibres Change Colour When Stretched

By Guest PostFebruary 6, 2013Sciencealfie lethbridge, bastard hogberry, bio inspired fibres, birds, blue colour, bright iridescent, cells, change colour, creation, cylindrical cross section, eye on earth, fruit, geographic area, Germany, harvard laboratories, harvard university, heat, joanna aizenberg, key elements, light and colour, ludwig maximilians university, margaritaria nobilis, mathias kolle, moritz kreysing, nanoscale, new fibre, peter vukusic, photonic fibres, polymer bilayer, pressure, principal investigator, seed, skin, smart fabrics, soap bubbles, south american, specific biological function, technological design, tropical plant, unique structural elements, university of exeter, vibrant colour, when stretched

A team of materials scientists at Harvard University and the University of Exeter has invented a new fibre which changes colour when stretched. Inspired by nature, the researchers identified and replicated the unique structural elements, which create the bright iridescent blue colour of a tropical plant’s fruit.

The multilayered fibre, described in the journal Advanced Materials, could lend itself to the creation of smart fabrics that visibly react to heat or pressure.

“Our new fibre is based on a structure we found in nature, and through clever engineering we’ve taken its capabilities a step further,” says lead author Dr Mathias Kolle, a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). “The plant, of course, cannot change colour. By combining its structure with an elastic material, however, we’ve created an artificial version that passes through a full rainbow of colours as it’s stretched.” (more…)

A Revealing Hand

By Guest PostJune 3, 2012Health, Scienceaustralia, biomarker, blood, blue laser light, brenda cartmel, chronic disease epidemiology, diabetes, electron, fiberoptic probe, fruit, heart disease, lycopene, macular degeneration, molecule, new technology, north dakota, nutrition research, prototype device, resonance raman spectroscopy, retina, rrs, serum, skin, skin biopsy, skin carotenoids, stephanie scarmo, susan t mayne, telltale substances, university of utah, vegetable, vegetable intake, yale school

What did you have for lunch yesterday? How many times a month do you eat nuts? How about your kids — how many servings of vegetables did they consume today?

It’s no secret that it is hard to recall the details of our meals, and that frustrating fact lies at the heart of nutrition research, complicating the task of linking foods to health outcomes like diabetes and heart disease. Some researchers look instead for telltale substances, or biomarkers, in the body that give information about how much of a certain type of food a person has eaten recently. But that solution isn’t ideal, as measuring biomarkers often requires blood, urine or even skin samples. The process can be costly, painful and cumbersome. (more…)

Groundwater Depletion in Semiarid Regions of Texas and California Threatens U.S. Food Security

By Guest PostMay 31, 2012Environmentaustin, bridget scanlon, byron tapley, california, central us, central valley, fruit, grace satellite, grain basket, groundwater depletion, groundwater level, high plains, irrigated agriculture, irrigating crops, lake mead, las vegas, NASA, semiarid region, south dakota, southern wyoming, storage, texas, texas panhandle, university of texas, us food security, vegetable basket, western kansas

AUSTIN, Texas — The nation’s food supply may be vulnerable to rapid groundwater depletion from irrigated agriculture, according to a new study by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and elsewhere.

The study, which appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, paints the highest resolution picture yet of how groundwater depletion varies across space and time in California’s Central Valley and the High Plains of the central U.S. Researchers hope this information will enable more sustainable use of water in these areas, although they think irrigated agriculture may be unsustainable in some parts.

“We’re already seeing changes in both areas,” said Bridget Scanlon, senior research scientist at The University of Texas at Austin’s Bureau of Economic Geology and lead author of the study. “We’re seeing decreases in rural populations in the High Plains. Increasing urbanization is replacing farms in the Central Valley. And during droughts some farmers are forced to fallow their land. These trends will only accelerate as water scarcity issues become more severe.” (more…)

MU Scientists Study How to Improve Pesticide Efficiency

By Guest PostMarch 1, 2012Environment, Scienceair space, bell peppers, brad fischer, california, carcinogen, chloropicrin, controversial pesticide, farm workers, florida, fruit, fumigant, gas, ingredient, kaitlan prugger, methyl bromide, methyl iodide, midas, molecular structure, montreal protocol, ozone layer, rainer glaser, rat poison, strawberries, tomatoes, vegetable crops

COLUMBIA, Mo. – In 2007, a controversial pesticide was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use on fruit and vegetable crops, mainly in California and Florida. Farm workers and scientists protested the approval of the pesticide because its active ingredient, methyl iodide, is a known carcinogen. Now, MU researchers are studying the molecular structure of the pesticide to determine if the product could be made more efficient and safer for those living near, and working in, treated fields. (more…)

Tag Archives: fruit

Bio-inspired Fibres Change Colour When Stretched

A Revealing Hand

Groundwater Depletion in Semiarid Regions of Texas and California Threatens U.S. Food Security

MU Scientists Study How to Improve Pesticide Efficiency