The article highlights groundbreaking research conducted at Edith Cowan University, where scientists have discovered an innovative way to extend the storage life of mangoes by up to 28 days. Led by Dr Mekhala Vithana, the study reveals that dipping mangoes in ozonated water for 10 minutes before cold storage significantly reduces chilling injury and extends shelf life.

Mango lovers rejoice! The research is a game-changer for growers and traders alike, as it reduces food loss during storage and provides a longer market window. With the global demand for fruits and vegetables on the rise, this eco-friendly technology could minimize post-harvest losses of mangoes and reduce waste in Australia.

Traditionally, mangoes are stored at 13 degrees Celsius for up to 14 days, but this temperature is not cold enough to prevent chilling injury. Prolonged storage below 12.5 degrees causes physiological disorders that damage the fruit skin and lead to decreased marketability and significant food waste.

The study tested aqueous ozonation technology on Australia’s most widely produced mango variety, Kensington Pride, and found that dipping the mango in ozonated water for 10 minutes prior to cold storage at 5 degrees Celsius extended shelf life up to 28 days with much less chilling injury. This breakthrough could revolutionize the way we store mangoes and reduce food waste.

Dr Vithana emphasizes that aqueous ozonation is a cost-effective, controlled-on-site technology that can be used in commercial settings. The researchers hope to conduct further studies on other varieties of mangoes to test their responsiveness and achieve further reduction in chilling injury for extended cold storage.

As we continue to explore innovative solutions to reduce food waste, the ozone secret could hold the key to extending mango storage life by 28 days, benefiting both growers and consumers alike.

The human body begins as a single cell that multiplies and differentiates into thousands of specialized cells. Researchers at the Göttingen Campus Institute for Dynamics of Biological Networks (CIDBN) and the Max Planck Institute have made a groundbreaking discovery: embryonic cells “listen” to each other through molecular mechanisms previously known only from hearing.

Using an interdisciplinary approach combining developmental genetics, brain research, hearing research, and theoretical physics, the researchers found that in thin layers of skin, cells register the movements of their neighboring cells and synchronize their own tiny movements with those of the others. This coordination allows groups of neighboring cells to pull together with greater force, making them highly sensitive and able to respond quickly and flexibly.

The researchers created computer models of tissue development, which showed that this “whispering” among neighboring cells leads to an intricate choreography of the entire tissue, protecting it from external forces. These findings were confirmed by video recordings of embryonic development and further experiments.

Dr. Matthias Häring, group leader at the CIDBN, explained that using AI methods and computer-assisted analysis allowed them to examine about a hundred times more cell pairs than was previously possible in this field, giving their results high accuracy.

The mechanisms revealed in embryonic development are also known to play a role in hearing, where hair cells convert sound waves into nerve signals. The ear is sensitive because of special proteins that convert mechanical forces into electrical currents. This discovery suggests that such sensors of force may have evolved from our single-celled ancestors, which emerged long before the origin of animal life.

Professor Fred Wolf, Director of the CIDBN, noted that future work should determine whether the original function of these cellular “nanomachines” was to perceive forces inside the body rather than perceiving the outside world. This phenomenon could provide insights into how force perception at a cellular level has evolved.

A new study from the University of Vienna has made a groundbreaking discovery in the field of developmental biology. Researchers have found that sea anemones, traditionally considered radially symmetric animals, use a molecular mechanism known as BMP shuttling to pattern their back-to-belly body axis. This finding suggests that bilateral symmetry, which characterizes a vast group of animals including vertebrates, insects, and worms, may have evolved much earlier than previously assumed.

BMP shuttling is a signaling system involving Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs) and their inhibitor Chordin. In bilaterian animals, this mechanism creates a gradient of BMP activity across the embryo, allowing cells to detect and adopt different fates depending on BMP levels. The study’s findings indicate that sea anemones use BMP shuttling in a similar manner, with cells expressing different fates based on BMP signaling.

To investigate whether sea anemones indeed use BMP shuttling, researchers blocked Chordin production in the embryos of the model sea anemone Nematostella vectensis. Without Chordin, BMP signaling ceased, and the formation of the second body axis failed. However, when Chordin was reintroduced into a small part of the embryo, BMP signaling resumed – but only with a diffusible form of Chordin, which acts as a BMP shuttle.

The presence of BMP shuttling in both cnidarians and bilaterians suggests that this molecular mechanism predates their evolutionary divergence some 600-700 million years ago. The study’s findings open up exciting possibilities for rethinking how body plans evolved in early animals, and may have significant implications for our understanding of the evolution of bilateral symmetry.

The research was supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), grants P32705 and M3291.