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The authors investigate whether amylase or yeast had a more prominent role in determining the bioethanol concentration and bioethanol yield of banana samples. They hypothesized that amylase would have the most significant impact on the bioethanol yield and concentration of the samples. They found that while yeast is an essential component for producing bioethanol, the proportion of amylase supplied through a joint amylase-yeast mixture has a more significant impact on the bioethanol yield. This study provides a greater understanding of the mechanisms and implications involved in enzyme-based biofuel production, specifically of those pertaining to amylase and yeast.

Here, seeking a way to convert the vast quantity of seawater to drinking water, the authors investigated the purification of seawater to drinking water through electrodialysis. Using total dissolved solids (TDS) as their measure, they found that electrodialysis was able to produce deionized water with TDS values under the acceptable range for consumable water.

Someday, rockets from Earth may be launched towards worlds beyond our solar system. But will these rockets be able to reach their destination within a human lifetime? Ramaswamy and Giovinazzi simulate rocket launches to an Earth-like exoplanet to uncover whether it's physically possible to complete the journey within a lifetime.

Greenspaces (urban and wetland areas that contain vegetation) are beneficial to reducing pollution, while airplanes are a highly-polluting method of transportation. The authors examine the intersection of these two environmental factors by processing satellite images to reveal what percentage of flight paths go over greenspaces at major US airports.

The authors test the durability of synthetic versus non-synthetic fabrics though loose thread counts, color fade over time, and shrinkage tests.

This study hypothesizes that nanoparticles derived from corn (cNPs)may have anti-proliferative effects on bone cancer and metastasized bone cancer. It finds that human osteosarcoma and human lung carcinoma metastasized to bone marrow cell viability decreased to 0% when treated with cNPs. Overall, these results indicate that cNPs have anti-proliferative effects on bone cancer cells and cancer cells that metastasize to the bone.

We hypothesize that berberine has broad-spectrum antibacterial properties, along with potency that is comparable to current broad-spectrum antibiotics that are commercially available. Here, we screened berberine against four strains of bacteria and evaluated its antimicrobial activity against five broad-spectrum antibiotics from different classes to better quantify berberine’s antibacterial activity and compare its efficacy as an antibacterial agent to the broad-spectrum antibiotics. Our results indicated that berberine had strain-selective cytotoxic effects and was significantly less potent than most of the broad-spectrum antibiotics

Sesame (Sesamum indicum) and moringa (Moringa oleifera) have natural antioxidants that could prevent cancer growth. Previously, this group found that sesame and moringa individually suppress eye tumor grown in the Drosophila melanogaster model. In the present study, combinations of sesame and moringa at different concentrations were included in the D. melanogaster diet. The impact on eye tumor development was assessed at different stages of growth.

In this article, the authors compare different resource-efficient farming methods for the vegetable Lactuca sativa. They compared hydroponics (solid growth medium with added nutrients) to aquaponics (water with fish waste to provide nutrients) and determined efficacy by measuring plant height over time. While both systems supported plant growth, the authors concluded that aquaponics was the superior method for supporting Lactuca sativa growth. These findings are of great relevance as we continue to find the most sustainable and efficient means for farming.

Fungi that attack and kill insects have promise for targeting mosquitoes without the harmful environmental impacts of chemicals like DDT. To find out whether fungi might be effective in controlling mosquitoes in Hawaii, Jiang and Chan test the effects of Hawaiian fungal isolates on mosquito larvae.