New strategies against mosquitoes and other pests.

South America is fighting a battle against tiger mosquitoes that transmit yellow fever, dengue fever and the Zika virus. In Central Europe, wine and fruit growers fear another year of massive crop failures due to a type of vinegar fly known as the spotted-wing drosophila. Since the success rate of conventional methods continues to fall, researchers are developing new species-specific strategies that keep pests under control without resorting to environmental toxins. Fraunhofer researchers in Gießen are developing new species-specific strategies that keep pests under control without resorting to environmental toxins. Schetelig is an expert on the sterile insect technique, or SIT, in which the mass release of sterile males decimates the population of insect pests. With his team of researchers at the LOEWE Center for Insect Biotechnology & Bioresources, which is sponsored by the German state of Hesse, Schetelig is developing methods that increase the effectiveness of the sterile insect technique and allow it to be transferred to other insect pests. continue

GSK and Google just created a £540m bioelectronic health firm.

Google’s parent company and pharma giant GlaxoSmithKline have created a new company to research, develop and commercialise bioelectronic medicines. Galvani Bioelectronics will be based in Stevenage and receive investment of up to £540 million over the next seven years from Alphabet-owned Verily Life Sciences (formerly Google Life Sciences) and GSK. The two companies will take 55 per cent and 45 per cent equity in the new firm. Galvani will develop miniaturised, implantable devices that can monitor nerve signals in the body. These devices could tackle irregular or altered impulses that occur in many chronic illnesses such as arthritis, diabetes and asthma. The system works by using electrical impulses to alter nerve system signals triggered by chronic illnesses. Once developed, the bioelectronic devices are likely to be similar in size of a medical pill and would be implanted using keyhole surgery. The one-off treatment could potentially last decades, doing away with the need for regular medication. Major hurdles for Galvani include powering the devices and ensuring that can function for years inside the body. Continue

Barclays is ditching passwords for telephone voice recognition.

Barclays customers will soon be able to access their telephone banking account using voice recognition instead of a password. The update will be available to all customers by the end of August. The Voice Security technology will replace passwords and pins with a customer’s voice print to confirm identification. Barclays said voice prints would be made up of over 100 unique characteristics based on the physical shape of a speaker’s mouth and throat. Earlier this year, the Financial Fraud Action (FFA) revealed that losses due to telephone banking fraud rose by 92 per cent in 2015 to £32.3 million and greater adoption of technologies such as voice recognition could help stem the flow. In March TalkTalk also announced that it would use voice recognition technology to verify customers’ identities using voice prints following a large-scale hack on its internal systems. Each time a customer calls, the technology will compare their voice against the voice print to establish a match using the first few words spoken. Barclays was the first European bank to launch voice recognition technology to customers in May 2013. HSBC also revealed plans to use voice recognition software for telephone banking. Many banks, websites and apps, including Lloyds, Amazon and Evernote, are also now using fingerprints to verify identities through technology such as Apple’s Touch ID, Google Pay and Samsung’s Finger Scanner. Continue

Modern-day slavery at Thai poultry farms risks 'polluting' supply chain.

Modern-day slavery at Thai poultry farms risks 'polluting' supply chain: Poultry meat importers risk “polluting their supply chains” by relying on Thai producers that abuse workers’ rights and must press them to uphold the law, according to a prominent migrant rights activist. continue

Rapid- low-temperature process can add weeks to milk’s shelf life.

Rapid, low-temperature process can add weeks to milk’s shelf life, a study conducted by Purdue University found that the rapid heating and cooling of milk significantly reduces the amount of harmful bacteria present in fluid dairy milk, and can extend its shelf life up to seven weeks. continue

Cockroach milk as a future protein supplement.

Scientists trial of cockroach milk as a future protein supplement. Scientists have discovered cockroach milk is four times more nutritious than cow's milk with a protein that releases energy slowly over a long period of time. Continue

Patagonia and Chris Malloy Made a Film About Agriculture .

Although climate change is a natural occurrence, the cause for alarm isn’t the fact that it’s changing, it’s the speed at which it’s doing so. Humans have created a life so full of comfort that it’s destroying the place we all call home, and the way we eat isn’t helping. Our farming habits are turning the fragile ecological balance upside down, and it’s all coming to a head. Patagonia, Chris Malloy, and Farm League got together to make a film about it. It’s called Unbroken Ground. The film “explains the critical role food will play in the next frontier of our efforts to solve the environmental crisis… [and] explores four areas of agriculture that aim to change our relationship to the land and oceans. Most of our food is produced using methods that reduce biodiversity, decimate soil and contribute to climate change. We believe our food can and should be a part of the solution to the environmental crisis – grown, harvested and produced in ways that restore our land, water and wildlife. The film tells the story of four groups that are pioneers in the fields of regenerative agriculture, regenerative grazing, diversified crop development and restorative fishing.” The film is part of Patagonia’s Provisions project, which, the words of founder Yvon Chouinard does a few things: “It only makes sense that we’d want to share some of our favorite food with our customers,” he wrote. “But that’s just the beginning; we also believe there is great opportunity—and an urgent need—for positive change in the food industry. With Patagonia Provisions, our goals are the same as with everything we do: We aim to make the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, and perhaps most important, inspire solutions to the environmental crisis.” continue