Health & Wellness - Jan 17

34 & January 2017 | Read this issue and more at www.healthandwellnessmagazine.net | Like us @healthykentucky
F OD BITES
By Angela S. Hoover, Staff Writer
Bomb-Detecting Spinach
Experimenting with a new field
called plant nanobionics, MIT scientists
have embedded the leaves of
spinach plants with carbon nanotubes
that are capable of detecting
nitroaromatics – compounds often
found in landmines and other explosives.
As the spinach plant draws in
groundwater, it can detect if nitroaromatics
are present. Within 10 minutes,
carbon nanotubes in the plant’s
leaves will emit a fluorescent signal.
Infrared cameras pick up the signal
and broadcast it to a smartphonelike
device that sends an email.
Nanobionics aims to utilize the environmental
responsiveness of plants
because they can detect small changes
and are even “aware” of impending
droughts before people are. Other
scientists working with nanobionics
are exploring nitric oxide sensors,
detecting dopamine and performing
drought detection and even terrorism-related
activities. The MIT team
published their results in the journal
Nature Materials.
Green Tea Molecule
May Block Zika
Green tea has antioxidant properties,
one of which is a polyphenol
called EGCG. Scientists aren’t entirely
sure how, but this molecule has
been shown to fight antibiotic-resistant
infections and other viruses such
as hepatitis C and HIV. Recently,
scientists exposed the Zika virus to
high concentrations of EGCG, and
the polyphenol prevented 90 percent
of the virus from entering and infecting
host cells. Even better, EGCG
is safe for pregnant women. The
results were published in the journal
Virology.
Nestlé Patenting Lower-Sugar
Chocolate that Tastes the Same
Nestlé researchers claim they have
found a way to structure sugar differently
using only natural ingredients
– and the decreased sugar content
doesn’t make the chocolate taste
different than chocolate made with
standard amounts. “This process has
the potential to reduce total sugar by
up to 40 percent in our confectionery,”
said Nestlé chief technology
officer Stefan Catsicas. The Swiss
company is patenting its discovery,
which will be available to consumers
beginning in 2018.
MIT scientists have embedded
the leaves of spinach plants
with carbon nanotubes that
are capable of detecting
compounds often found in
landmines and other explosives.