Scientists grow potato under Mars-like conditions in Peru

Potatoes on Mars? Scientists are reporting promising results growing the tuber under conditions that mimic the Red Planet in an experiment in Peru linked to US space agency NASA. “Preliminary results are positive,” the International Potato Center said this week after a potato grew under simulated Mars atmospheric conditions in an experiment in Lima.

French fries on Mars could soon be a reality

Potatoes can be grown even in the extreme environment of Mars, according to a new study that has implications for future manned missions to the red planet as well as helping people survive in harsh climates on Earth. The International Potato Centre in Peru launched a series of experiments to discover if potatoes can grow under Mars atmospheric conditions and thereby prove they are also able to grow in extreme climates on Earth.

It’s official: Potatoes can grow on Mars

An experiment simulating conditions on Mars demonstrated that the hearty tubers can thrive even under the harsh conditions on the Red Planet. Two years after a humble potato patch co-starred in “The Martian,” scientists have found that fictional astronaut Mark Watney’s strategy for surviving on the Red Planet could actually work.

Flippy Is A Robot That Will Be Flipping Burgers At CaliBurger

It is no secret that in the future robots could be replacing some of the jobs that we do. We’re already seeing this in factories where robots are replacing humans on the assembly line namely because they can work more efficiently and require no rest, thus potentially allowing them to work around the clock.

Study reveals how potatoes could grow on Mars

Experiments to grow potatoes in the harsh soil of the southern Peruvian desert have revealed new promise for their ability to thrive on Mars. The dry soils in the Pampas de La Joya desert are the closest thing on Earth to the conditions of the red planet, and so far, researchers have found the potatoes are able to tolerate the environment.

Heston Blumenthal on his over-active mind

Heston Blumenthal’s head-spinningly exotic dishes have made him the nutty professor of British gastronomy. Now the inventor of snail porridge tells Event how his over-active mind has driven him to boiling point Heston Blumenthal just can’t sit still.

Loan awarded for Asher’s revamp

The Mifflin County Industrial Development Corporation was awarded a $150,000, 15-year loan at 2.25 percent interest for the first seven years for the renovation of two buildings located within the MCIDC Business Center at 19 E. Susquehanna St. in Lewistown. The facility houses Asher’s Chocolates, which is the oldest family-owned candy maker in the United States, manufacturing various types of chocolate covered candies.

Danish Crown targets China’s choosy pork eaters with plant for premium cuts

Top European pork producer Danish Crown hopes to gain a bigger chunk of the Chinese market by building a new factory to provide fresh meat to discerning consumers in Shanghai. Plans for the DKK300 million plant come as Hormel Foods of the United States prepares to open a new factory in nearby Zhejiang province in the third quarter, and after a year of record pork imports by the world’s top consumer of the meat.

A winning invention on display at Northland Field Days

A machine that is billed as promising to increase kiwifruit yield and reduce costs will be make its Northland Field Days debut this week. Tired of watching pollen go to waste when pollinating his own kiwifruit vines, he came up with a machine that he says allows growers to use less pollen and increase fruit size and quality.

What labor shortage? Robot apple pickers on the way – Sun, 26 Feb 2017 PST

Worry over ag labor shortages could be a thing of the past if two engineering firms hit goals to market robotic fruit-picking machines by 2019. The two competing companies – Abundant Robotics Inc. in California and Israel-based FFRobotics – have plans to manufacture and market commercial robotic harvesters sometime in the next 18 to 24 months, representatives told a global audience of fruit growers here Thursday.

The skinny on Atkins’ digital coupons

I would recommend that you have one description which you use on your own site and offer e-retailers an alternate description. E-commerce sales by region, sales by product category, holiday data, online spending by shopper and as percentage of household income, and more.

Higgins celebrates Buffalo & Niagara Falls students making history in latest NASA launch

Congressman Brian Higgins welcomed Buffalo and Niagara Falls students back to Western New York following a trip to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center to witness their work blast up to the International Space Station during a launch on Sunday, Feb. 19. “It is exciting to see the incredible creativity of local students recognized nationally,” Higgins said. “This is a real-life demonstration of the critical role the arts and sciences play in education.

Arctic Apple could be Litmus test for future of GM foods, Rabobank analysts suggest

When the Arctic Apple hits select store shelves this month as one of the first products genetically modified for consumers’ benefit, it will serve as a line in the sand for the tug of war between the non-GMO movement and the future of food innovation. Okanagan Specialty Fruits, which developed the non-browning apple, will test consumers’ willingness to purchase produce that has been genetically modified specifically for their benefit – rather than for farmers as a pesticide and herbicide resistant plant – in 10 stores in the Midwest beginning this month.

Data breach at Arby’s reportedly was first sniffed out by PSCU

Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc. said in a statement to USA TODAY that it had recently launched an investigation of its payment card systems after learning of a possible data breach. The Atlanta-based Arby’s said it notified law enforcement and brought in leading security experts to investigate malware found on its point-of-sale system.

Low demand, disease shrivel orange crop

Things keep getting worse for citrus growers in Florida, where crop disease and slowing demand continue to threaten what used to be a signature industry in the sunshine state. The state’s orange crop is poised to shrink to what could be the smallest harvest in five decades, according to Judy Ganes-Chase, president of J. Ganes Consulting in Panama City, Panama.

Now you can “build your own” bio-bot

For the past several years, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have been developing a class of walking “bio-bots” powered by muscle cells and controlled with electrical and optical pulses. Now, Rashid Bashir’s bioengineering research group is sharing the recipe for the current generation of bio-bots.

Arby’s Warns It Has Suffered a Massive Security Breach

Arby’s has confirmed that a massive data breach has occurred at “hundreds” of its restaurants, potentially putting more than 355,000 of its customers’ credit and debit cards into the hands of hackers. The hackers reportedly placed malware on the payment systems of corporate stores, and the possible carnage looks serious – the National Association of Federal Credit Unions’ CEO describes it as “probably one of the biggest numbers I’ve heard.”

Arby’s breach may have hit 355,000 credit cards

Arby’s breach may have hit 355,000 credit cards Malware on cash registers allowed crooks to grab credit and debit card info Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/2k8KbFv Arby’s fast food restaurants were hit with a data breach in December of 2016 and January of 2017 that may have compromised at least 355,000 credit and debit cards. SAN FRANCISCO – Malware on cash registers at Arby’s fast food restaurants may have resulted in the breach of more than 355,000 credit and debit cards.

I Wish Apple Loved Books

I’ve joked that if Eddie Cue loved reading the way he clearly loves music, then iBooks, the iBookstore, and iBooks Author would be amazing. Not only aren’t they amazing, they aren’t even good.

Bacon? Berries? Des Moines inventor tastes the future of tofu

Bacon? Berries? Des Moines inventor tastes the future of tofu Bob Rees wants to make your tofu taste as good as your flavored yogurt. Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/2kGJsj0 Bob Rees, a 59-year-old Des Moines inventor, shows his idea for flavored tofu using jello mix and soymilk, Friday, Jan. 27, 2017.

Seniors welcome new robot friends

Welcoming a robot into her family was never Maxine Duncan’s idea of a support aide in her older years. But this winter, she and her partner, Herbert Yarbrough, signed up to test a telepresence robot in their retirement community in Walnut Creek, Calif.

Norway Salmon Anyone? What to Watch If Russia Sanctions Ease

Stock pickers are already positioning for an event that has the potential to shake up markets from Norway to Brazil: the lifting of sanctions on Russia. Any easing of the restrictions that have isolated Europe’s fifth-biggest economy for nearly three years will be a “shot of adrenaline for the stock market,” according to Luis Saenz, who runs the Russian sales and trading department at BCS Financial Group.

The robots are coming

The future will feature a lot more pizza bots instead of pizza boys if London-based delivery robot maker Starship Technologies has anything to say about it. The robot-focused startup – founded in 2014 by Skype cofounders Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis – is on something of a tear at the moment, having just raised $17.2 million from investors that included Daimler.

Pepper The Robot To Greet Travele…

More specifically, the 4-foot high humanoid robot is joining a global restaurateur to engage with customers as they walk by one of the eateries at the Oakland International Airport. The restaurateur, HMSHost, has teamed with Softbank Robotics America to launch a new pilot program with the humanoid robot starting this week.

Pepper The Robot To Greet Travele…

More specifically, the 4-foot high humanoid robot is joining a global restaurateur to engage with customers as they walk by one of the eateries at the Oakland International Airport. The restaurateur, HMSHost, has teamed with Softbank Robotics America to launch a new pilot program with the humanoid robot starting this week.