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Researchers Study ‘ Sound of Plants Dancing ’
What do dancing plants sound like ? Researchers at Virginia Tech believe the answer could be a future agricultural tool . Using experimental technology in controlled-environment agriculture , scientists are exploring how the sonification of plant movements could be used to assess
plant health and aid farmers who need to monitor their greens at an industrial scale . With the idea of increasing plant health , researchers set up cameras on a small number of pepper plants and recorded their movement , noting patterns . The camera captures micromovements . Then the data they ’ ve collected on movement is converted into sound using sonification . In that way , a human could hear patterns present among the plants . The idea is to eventually link certain sounds to indicators a plant needs better light or more nitrogen . Computers , analyzing the data at a large scale , could learn “ what is a good sound and what is a bad sound ,” says Bingyu Zhao , lead researcher on the project .
— phys . org
SFU Researcher Exploring Better Organic Pesticide Use
Scientists at Simon Fraser University ( SFU ) in Vancouver recently received $ 300,000 in funding from Innovate B . C . to develop technology allowing farmers to grow more food with less pesticides . The project aims to reduce global synthetic pesticide use by 80 percent by 2030 . “ The growing world population needs more food and we need to grow food that is environmentally sustainable ,” says SFU computing science professor Martin Ester , who is the principal investigator for the project . “ One approach is to develop organic pesticides that are as effective as chemical pesticides , but less harmful to the environment .” The SFU team hopes to use machine learning , image analysis , and robotics to advance using precision agriculture to improve the effectiveness of organic pesticides vis-à-vis chemical pesticides . Researchers will develop data mining methods that learn about the effectiveness of a small number of lab-tested chemical formulations to predict the effectiveness of a much larger number of potential formulations .
— sfu . ca
Spinach Boosts Hair Growth
Spinach is one of the most popular green leafy vegetables . The vegetable contains essential vitamins and antioxidants like vitamins A , B1 , K , C , and E . It also contains Omega-3 fatty acids and minerals like zinc , iron , and manganese . Spinach , while being great either raw , cooked , or in a juice form , is also good for hair because of the presence of vitamins A and C , that helps in promoting hair growth . Vitamin A present in spinach helps regulate the production of oils on hair . It also helps in moisturising the hair and skin . Vitamin C is crucial in the production of collagen , which helps in the formation and regrowth of hair . The antioxidants present in spinach help in preventing hair loss . It also helps ensure the scalp is clean and healthy . Vitamins B and C help in accelerating hair growth by increasing the keratin and collagen levels in the scalp .
— freshplaza . com
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