Latest news with #NASA-inspired
Mint
12-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Food-tech is here to feed the world without devouring it
Picture this: 295 million people face severe hunger right now. Meanwhile, traditional farming consumes 70% of global freshwater, emits 11 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide annually and is responsible for 90% of deforestation worldwide. Every year, we lose about 12 million hectares, roughly the size of Greece, to drought and erosion. With an expected 10 billion mouths to feed by 2050, the current food supply trajectory simply isn't sustainable. But there is hope. Also Read: Jagdambika Pal: Minimize food loss and waste for the sake of our planet and its people Technology breakthroughs in food production are now a science fiction writer's envy. Remember 2013's $330,000 lab-grown burger? Today, cultivated meat pioneers like Upside Foods have slashed costs to about $20 (under lab conditions), a staggering reduction. Singapore became the first country to approve cultivated chicken commercially in 2020, followed by the US in 2023. Yet, production remains minuscule. Eat Just's pilot facility currently produces only about 3kg of lab-grown chicken per week, compared to 4,000-5,000kg at a regular shop. Although meaningful scale is years away, cultivated meat's environmental potential is compelling: studies on beef show it could cut emissions and land use by up to 90% and reduce water use by around 80% compared to conventional beef (in a best-case scenario, assuming the use of renewable energy). Also Read: Food security: Let clean-tech innovation lead the way While lab-grown meat captivates imaginations, plant-based alternatives have already reshaped supermarket shelves. The global plant-based meat market, led by brands like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, reached $16 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $100 billion by 2033. These alternatives currently cost around 77% more than animal meat. Yet, the environmental benefits are undeniable. For example, pea protein emits just 0.4kg of carbon dioxide per 100g protein compared to beef's staggering 35kg. Israel's Redefine Meat pushes the envelope, using advanced 3D printing to create plant-based steaks realistic enough to impress Michelin-starred chefs across Europe. India's Blue Tribe Foods creates carbon-neutral, plant-based meats, highlighting the global nature of this wave. But why only mimic meat when we can completely rethink protein production? Enter precision fermentation. Companies like Perfect Day craft dairy proteins without cows, using genetically engineered micro-organisms, slashing water use by 99% and greenhouse gas emissions by 97%. Nature's Fynd has gone further, creating nutritious proteins from microbes; its products are now stocked across hundreds of stores. And molecular farming transforms plants themselves into factories, producing everything from life-saving vaccines to spider silk proteins inside spinach leaves. Also Read: Gene editing: Is humanity ready to rewrite the book of life? NASA-inspired technology is also revolutionizing protein production. Here, Solar Foods' Solein wins for sheer audacity. It makes protein 'from thin air" using carbon dioxide, water and renewable electricity. Its first commercial facility, which opened in April 2024, expects to produce protein with far greater efficiency than traditional farms. Air Protein uses bacteria first developed for astronauts to produce protein potentially 10,000 times more efficiently per land area than soyabeans. Similarly, spirulina algae—another NASA astronaut staple—produces protein at 50 times the rate of soyabeans, actively absorbing carbon dioxide in the process. Finally, biofortification is engineering crops to tackle global nutritional deficiencies directly. Golden Rice, engineered with beta-carotene to prevent blindness, has finally reached farmers after decades-long development. In Rwanda, iron-rich beans have increased dietary iron intake by 11% within two years. Zinc-enhanced wheat now spans 1.8 million hectares in India, addressing a 'hidden hunger' that silently affects billions worldwide. Food-tech innovations hint at greater possibilities. For instance, Japan's plans for space-based solar power could potentially revolutionize agriculture by enabling farming in deserts, underground chambers or even Mars. Also Read: Food and fertilizer subsidies should be climate-adapted and aimed better Investment trends tell their own story. After a sharp decline following a peak of $51.7 billion in 2021, food-tech funding rebounded in the first half of 2024. If scaled effectively, these innovations could slash agricultural emissions by about 80%, potentially freeing land twice the combined area of China and India. Our food system is undergoing an extraordinary transformation—proteins from thin air, 3D-printed steaks, astronaut-tested algae and nutrient-rich biofortified crops. While these ideas might seem 'moonshotish' today, remember that smartphones were pure science fiction not long ago. The technology exists, the environmental benefits are clear, and the path forward is illuminated by science and imagination. We humans are ready to 'cook up' a food system that nourishes the world and proves Thomas Malthus's dismal outlook wrong again—without devouring the planet in the process. The author is a technology advisor and podcast host.
Scottish Sun
12-05-2025
- Science
- Scottish Sun
Image shows Mars 4 billion years ago revealing OCEAN world – and scientists say ‘lost' sea may still be hiding on planet
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A LOST Martian ocean may be hiding beneath the red planet's surface. Today Mars is a cold and dry desert – but it may have been covered in rivers, lakes, and seas around four billion years ago. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 Mars may have been a wet world with vast rivers, lakes, and seas Credit: NASA 7 Today Mars is a cold and dry wasteland – but it wasn't always the case Credit: National Science Review Even as recently as 3.1 billion years ago, it may have still had "shimmering" liquid water in large quantities. Scientists say that some of this escaped to space or froze on the polar caps – as well as the water that was trapped in minerals. But scientists say that a there is still a significant amount of "missing" water that may be lurking under the ground. In fact, this missing water is enough to cover the entire planet in an ocean "at least 700 metres deep, and perhaps up to 900 metres deep", according to Professor Hrvoje Tkalčić, of the Australian National University. The scientists have used seismic data from Nasa's InSight probe, which launched in 2018. And this may have revealed a vast ocean underground. "We uncovered evidence that the seismic waves slow down in a layer between 5.4 and 8 kilometres below the surface," Tkalčić explained. "Which could be because of the presence of liquid water at these depths." Nasa's InSight uses a seismometer to "listen" to the inside of Mars. And scientists were able to track down a "significant underground anomaly". Inside futuristic plans for NASA-inspired spaceship that can shorten travel times for the Moon and Mars This was a layer where the vibrations were moving more slowly – a "low-velocity layer". The scientists believe this is very porous rock that has filled up with liquid water – just like a spone. "We calculated the 'aquifer layer' on Mars could hold enough water to cover the planet in a global ocean 520–780m deep," said Tkalčić. "Several times as much water as is held in Antarctica's ice sheet." 7 Scientists used data captured by the seismometer on board Nasa's InSight lander Credit: Nasa The downside is that the seismic data only covers a small slice of Mars. So scientists will need to get more seismometers to the red planet to fully map these potential water layers. If they can find these water layers and drill into them, it could lead to a major breakthrough in the hunt for alien life. "Liquid water is essential for life as we know it. On Earth, microbes thrive in deep, water-filled rock," Tkalčić explained. 7 "Could similar life, perhaps relics of ancient Martian ecosystems, persist in these reservoirs? There's only one way to find out. Tkalčić continued: "The water may be a lifeline for more complex organisms, too – such as future human explorers. "Purified, it could provide drinking water, oxygen, or fuel for rockets. "Of course, drilling kilometres deep on a distant planet is a daunting challenge." 7 A primitive ocean may have once covered the Martian surface Credit: NASA/GSFC MARS – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Here's a quick guide to Mars... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and Earth's space neighbour. The blood-red planet was named by the ancient Romans after their god of war. It's about 2,100 miles wide and roughly half the size of Earth. The planet is around 142 million miles from the Sun on average, with sunlight taking 13 minutes to reach the red planet's surface. A single Martian day lasts about 24.6 hours – while a year lasts 669.6 sols, or 687 Earth days. The planet has two small moons named Phobos and Deimos. It's home to Olympus Mons, which is the largest volcano in our solar system and around three times the height of Mt Everest. Temperatures can range from 20C to -153C. Picture Credit: Nasa / Reuters Scientists think that this lost water could account for the "missing" water on the planet. It may have ended up underground by seeping through cracks in the crust. Those cracks may have been formed after Mars was "heavily bombarded by meteorites". "Deep beneath the surface, warmer temperatures would keep the water in a liquid state – unlike the frozen layers nearer the surface," Tkalčić explained. 7 7 Mars may have once looked a lot more like Earth than it does today Credit: Getty - Contributor This research was published in the National Science Review, and authored by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Australian National University, and University of Milano-Bicocca.
The Irish Sun
12-05-2025
- Science
- The Irish Sun
Image shows Mars 4 billion years ago revealing OCEAN world – and scientists say ‘lost' sea may still be hiding on planet
A LOST Martian ocean may be hiding beneath the red planet's surface. Today Mars is a cold and dry desert – but it may have been covered in rivers, lakes, and seas around four billion years ago. 7 Mars may have been a wet world with vast rivers, lakes, and seas Credit: NASA 7 Today Mars is a cold and dry wasteland – but it wasn't always the case Credit: National Science Review Even as recently as 3.1 billion years ago, it may have still had "shimmering" liquid water in large quantities. Scientists say that some of this escaped to space or froze on the polar caps – as well as the water that was trapped in minerals. But scientists say that a there is still a significant amount of "missing" water that may be lurking under the ground. In fact, this missing water is enough to cover the entire planet in an ocean "at least 700 metres deep, and perhaps up to 900 metres deep", according to Professor Hrvoje Tkalčić, of the Australian National University. Read more on space The scientists have used seismic data from Nasa's And this may have revealed a vast ocean underground. "We uncovered evidence that the seismic waves slow down in a layer between 5.4 and 8 kilometres below the surface," Tkalčić explained. "Which could be because of the presence of liquid water at these depths." Most read in Science Nasa's And scientists were able to track down a "significant underground anomaly". Inside futuristic plans for NASA-inspired spaceship that can shorten travel times for the Moon and Mars This was a layer where the vibrations were moving more slowly – a "low-velocity layer". The scientists believe this is very porous rock that has filled up with liquid water – just like a spone. "We calculated the 'aquifer layer' on Mars could hold enough water to cover the planet in a global ocean 520–780m deep," said Tkalčić. "Several times as much water as is held in Antarctica's ice sheet." 7 Scientists used data captured by the seismometer on board Nasa's InSight lander Credit: Nasa The downside is that the seismic data only covers a small slice of Mars. So scientists will need to get more seismometers to the red planet to fully map these potential water layers. If they can find these water layers and drill into them, it could lead to a major breakthrough in the "Liquid water is essential for life as we know it. On Earth, microbes thrive in deep, water-filled rock," Tkalčić explained. 7 "Could similar life, perhaps relics of ancient Martian ecosystems, persist in these reservoirs? There's only one way to find out. Tkalčić continued: "The water may be a lifeline for more complex organisms, too – such as future human explorers. "Purified, it could provide drinking water, oxygen, or fuel for rockets. "Of course, drilling kilometres deep on a distant planet is a daunting challenge." 7 A primitive ocean may have once covered the Martian surface Credit: NASA/GSFC MARS – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Here's a quick guide to Mars... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and Earth's space neighbour. The blood-red planet was named by the ancient Romans after their god of war. It's about 2,100 miles wide and roughly half the size of Earth. The planet is around 142 million miles from the Sun on average, with sunlight taking 13 minutes to reach the red planet's surface. A single Martian day lasts about 24.6 hours – while a year lasts 669.6 sols, or 687 Earth days. The planet has two small moons named Phobos and Deimos. It's home to Olympus Mons, which is the largest volcano in our solar system and around three times the height of Mt Everest. Temperatures can range from 20C to -153C. Picture Credit: Nasa / Reuters Scientists think that this lost water could account for the "missing" water on the planet. It may have ended up underground by seeping through cracks in the crust. Those cracks may have been formed after Mars was "heavily bombarded by meteorites". "Deep beneath the surface, warmer temperatures would keep the water in a liquid state – unlike the frozen layers nearer the surface," Tkalčić explained. 7 7 Mars may have once looked a lot more like Earth than it does today Credit: Getty - Contributor This research was published in the National Science Review , and authored by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Australian National University, and University of Milano-Bicocca.
