Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Sweet Wheat - No Sugar Added
Sweet wheat is a hybridized variety of wheat with twice the sugar of its ancestor. Japan’s National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) and Nippon Flour Mills announced the development of the plant on December 12th.
(Sweet Wheat
From wheat to sweet)
The first of its kind, sweet wheat would reduce or eliminate the need to add sugar when it is used in cakes, baked goods or cereals. Sweet wheat is identical in appearance to common wheat, except that it withers and develops wrinkles when dehydrated.
Repeated breeding of wheat varieties with low levels of enzymes associated with starch production reduced starch levels - usually around 70% - down to 25%. The resulting sweet wheat has a much higher concentration of sugars like maltose and sucrose.
The new wheat should be available commercially in two or three years; researchers will use the intervening time to develop recipes.
This new development is not to be confused with wheatgrass, which is also sometimes called "sweet wheat." Wheatgrass is a plant (genus Agropyron) whose fresh leaf buds can be pressed to create a juice. The use of wheatgrass as a tonic dates from the early 1900's; Hungarian philosopher Edmund Bordeaux Szekely claimed to have translated an ancient manuscript in the Vatican archives that described its use by the Essenes in biblical times.
For other developments in futuristic plant use, see
- Tumblin' Tumbleweeds Lend Hand In Depleted Uranium Roundup
An early study indicates that the humble tumbleweed may be able to help humans round up depleted uranium from contaminated soil - Algae To Clean Atmosphere
Atmospheric cleansing by means of carefully selected algae has been suggested before by science fiction writers. - Earth Skunk Cabbage And Martian Desert Cabbage
SF writer Robert Heinlein also described cabbages that could regulate their internal temperature.
Via PinkTentacle.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 12/18/2006)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Food ")
Garçon! A Menu For Artemis II, S'il Vous Plaît
'Michel Ardan, as a Frenchman, was declared chief cook, an important function, which raised no rival.' - Jules Verne, 1867.
A Beautiful Visualization Of Compact Food
'The German chemists have discovered how to supply the needed elements in compact, undiluted form...' - Edward Page Mitchell (1879).
Thermostabilized Wet Meat Product (NASA Prototype)
There are no orbiting Michelin stars. Yet.
Edible Meat-Like Fungus Like Barbara Hambly's Slunch?
'It was almost unheard of for slunch to spread that fast...' - Barbara Hambly, 1985.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
DIY Robotic Content Farming
'The chief wheeled to the master machine and pressed a button.'
Reflect Orbital Sunlight On Demand
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors that circulate around the satellite, making it habitable.'
The Amazing Lightfoot Electric Scooter With Solar Assist
'The steel tortoise gave MacKinnon a feeling of Crusoe- like independence.'
Fully Electric, Fully Automated Vegetable‑growing Agribots
'...then back to their work, though little enough it was on these automatic cultivators.'
Vero Robotic Dog With Vacuum Cleaner Feet
'Out of warrens in the wall, tiny robot mice darted.'
AI Operates An Excavator
'So far as I could see, the thing was without a directing Martian at all.'
US Army IBEX Exoskeleton Walks Troops Out Of Danger
'The suit stands up and starts walking, gripping me round the calves and waist, taking the bulk of my weight off my throbbing feet.'
Boy Makes Biomimetic Turtle Robot
't came out into plain view. Darkington glimpsed a slim body and six short legs of articulated dull metal.'
Elon Musk Wants Data Centers In Space
'Internally it’s made up of millions of components, but the most important ones are the thinking and memory parts of the Mind proper.'
Origin F1 Humanoid Robot's Facial Skin
'I could look down at that face of carefully molded synthetic rubber, tinted the exact shade of the doctor's living flesh.'
Grok And The City Fathers From 'Cities In Flight' By James Blish
'Chris, the City Fathers are not interested in your welfare; I suppose you know that. They're interested in only one thing: the survival of the city.'
Why Not Move A Warehouse District?
'Did you never see a moving house before?'
Will An AI Found A New Religion?
'You must decide how you will worship Me.'
Terraformer Industries Make Methane
'Drake was the young spatial engineer he employed to terraform the little rock...'
I Need An Outdoor Spherical Display
'Usually a spherical display hovered in the centre...'
Worm Disrupts Physics Simulations Undetected For A Decade
'It diverts integers of the data, the fundamental message-units, so that they no longer agree.'
