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In a world where water shortage is becoming an increasing concern, and where population increase seems inevitable, food shortage is an overwhelming concern for many. In this paper, the authors aim to characterize a drought-resistant strain of A. thaliana, investigating the cause for its water resistance. These and similar studies help us learn how plants could be engineered to improve their ability to flourish in a changing climate.

The authors analyzed the heat transfer of different containers in the microwave aiming to identify the most optimal material of container to reduce heating time.

Increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide is slowly acidifying our oceans. Here the authors test the effects of ocean acidification on the ability of hermit crabs (P. longicarpus) to find food. Though no statistically significant changes in food finding were observed, the data suggest a trend toward different activity.

Cuisine with hot chili peppers can be tasty, but sometimes painful to consume because of the burning sensations caused by the capsaicin molecule. The authors wanted to find the palate reliever that decreases the burning sensation of capsaicin the most by testing water, soft drink, olive oil, milk, and ice-cream as possible candidates. The authors hypothesized that olive oil would be the best palate reliever as it is non-polar like the capsaicin molecule. The authors surveyed 12 panelists with low, medium, and high spice tolerances and found that across all levels of spice tolerance, milk and ice-cream were the best palate relievers and soft drink the worst.

The authors studied the chemoreception of moon jellyfish in response to food, and developed an AI tool to identify track and quantify the pulsation of swimming jellyfish.

Pathogenic fungi such as Alternaria alternata (A. alternata) can decimate crop yields and severely limit food supplies when left untreated. Copper chitosan (CuCts) is a promising alternative fungicide for developing agricultural areas due to being inexpensive and nontoxic. We hypothesized that LMWc CuCts would exhibit greater fungal inhibition due to the beneficial properties of LMWc.

Duckweed plays an important role in its aquatic environment by removing pollutants, such as zinc, from the water. In this study, the authors demonstrate that uptake of zinc by duckweed is inhibited by the presence of oil in the water, but this effect can be reversed with the addition of a dispersing agent.

Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are projected to lead to a 0.3- 0.4 unit decrease in ocean surface pH levels over the next century. In this study, the authors investigate the effect of pH change on the mass of calcified exoskeletons of common aquatic organisms found in South Florida coastal waters.

Climate change has contributed to the increasing annual temperatures around the world and poses a grave threat to Maize crops. Two methods proven to help combat plant drought stress effects are presoaking seeds (seeds are soaked in a liquid before planting) and the application of Acetic Acid (vinegar) to soil. The purpose of this experiment was to explore if combining these two methods by presoaking seeds with a vinegar solution can improve the seed development and plant drought tolerance of Maize plants during drought conditions.

Farmers will need to increase crop yields to feed the world's growing population efficiently. The authors here investigate the effects of growing corn in the presence or absence of ragweed, an invasive weed found in many fields and gardens. Surprisingly, the authors found that corn grown in the presence of weeds grew taller and were more productive than corn that had weeds removed. This may help gardeners rethink the necessity of weeding, and may point a way to improve farm yields in the future.