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Arabadopsis, “the fruit fly of plants”, is an easy to grow plant system for genetic manipulation. Here, researchers tested the effects of varied light conditions on plants with specific mutations in the light sensing pathways.

Globally, the cultivation of 77.8 million tons of grapes each year underscores their significance in both diets and agriculture. However, grapevines face mounting threats from diseases such as black rot, Esca, and leaf blight. Traditional detection methods often lag, leading to reduced yields and poor fruit quality. To address this, authors used machine learning, specifically deep learning with Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), to enhance disease detection.

This study explored the various effects of three different produce-based biofertilizers on pea plant growth, using red apple, pear, strawberry, and control treatments. It was hypothesized that the application of fruit biomatter would increase the growth of pea plants, with the application of strawberry biomatter having the most significant effect due to strawberries containing a higher nutrient content compared to pears and apples. Analysis confirmed the hypothesis. The application of strawberry biomatter could prove to be an effective way to increase plant growth in commercial agriculture.

Every year, more than 30% of food products go to waste. This is approximately 1.3 billion tons of food, which is equivalent to 1.3 trillion U.S. dollars. While conventional solid waste treatments and fertilization of food waste are common, citrus fruit peels require secondary applications and advanced disposal management due to their low pH values and high antimicrobial characteristics. Since citrus fruits are well-known sources of vitamin C and antioxidants, we hypothesized that their peels also contain high amounts of vitamin C and antioxidants. In our study, five common citrus peels including grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange, and tangerine, were used to determine the amounts of vitamin C and total soluble antioxidants.

Vitamin C is an essential nutrient that is involved in many important cellular processes. Humans are unable to produce Vitamin C and thus must obtain it from exogenous sources such as citrus fruits, peppers, or flowering vegetables. In this study, the authors investigate whether or not organic and non-organic fruits have comparable vitamin C levels. This type of study has important implications for consumers.

Food spoilage leads to a significant loss in agricultural produce each year. Here, the authors investigate whether certain essential oils can protect against fungus-mediated spoilage of fruits and vegetables. Their results suggest that the compounds they tested might indeed inhibit fungal growth, at various temperatures, a promising result that could reduce food wasting.

This study examines the possibility of utilizing proteins from Drosophila melanogaster in early drug discovery. Structural and sequence analysis of five diverse Drosophila proteins and its human homologs were conducted. Drosophila proteins with high conservation of amino acids at functionally significant positions are better candidates for use as human surrogate in drug discovery efforts.

Pathogenic bacteria cause major economic losses in agriculture, and widespread antibiotic use has led to increasing resistance. This study tested whether a low-cost DIY method could produce antibacterial colloidal silver effective against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive plant pathogens.

The authors looked at different strategies to extract oil from almonds to determine which gave the best results.

One-third of the world's people do not have access to clean drinking water. Nadella and Nadella tackle this issue by testing a low-cost filtration system for removing heavy metal and bacteria from water.