Monthly Archives: July 2021

Orbital transfer and servicing providers are bracing for a space tug of war as they jostle for position in an increasingly crowded market.

Newcomers are flooding into a space tug industry that has only emerged in recent years, pushing their own ideas to give operators greater flexibility for deploying and maintaining satellites.

At one end of the spectrum, companies such as Spaceflight, Exolaunch and Momentus are devising tugs that satellites attach to on the ground before they are transported to custom orbits post-launch. These services enable customers to cut costs by reducing a satellites onboard propulsion, or by removing it altogether and hosting the payload on the tug sometimes called an orbital transfer vehicle (OTV).

At the other end, Northrop Grumman and Astroscale are among those offering tugs that dock with already launched satellites to change orbits, enlarge fuel reserves or give them the ability to deorbit safely.

Just a handful of space tug ventures have managed to provide commercial services. On the post-launch servicing side, only U.S. aerospace defense giant Northrop Grumman has provided services to an in-orbit customer to date.

Even still, consolidation is widely expected to already be in the cards for the fast-evolving market.

Italys D-Orbit completed what it said was the worlds first commercial last-mile delivery service Oct. 28, after its In-Orbit Now (ION) vehicle dropped off 12 satellites for Planet over two months.

While regulatory delays have entangled plans by Silicon Valley startup Momentus to offer similar services, Seattle-based Spaceflight deployed 15 spacecraft from the debut flight of its Sherpa-FX space tug in January.

Spaceflight, which brokers rideshare launch services for satellite operators, plans to launch another Sherpa-FX on the SpaceX Transporter-2 mission scheduled at the end of June.

That mission will also include its new, electric propulsion-powered OTV Sherpa-LTE.

Spaceflight expects to fly another next-generation OTV called Sherpa-LTC, which will use chemical propulsion, on a separate SpaceX mission later this year.

Space tugs have the potential to fundamentally change the smallsat market, Spaceflight vice president of engineering Phil Bracken said.

With on-orbit propulsive capabilities, orbits that were once out of reach, due to cost or propulsion capabilities, will be viable options which addresses a growing market need for orbit diversification.

Until recently, most small satellite customers were just trying to prove their technology, choosing bulk deployments on large rockets when most orbits were desirable for this.

However, as the small satellite market matures, they are increasingly looking for specific orbits for optimal, revenue-generating services.

Sometimes their technology calls for extreme final orbit states that rideshare services or even dedicated small launch vehicles cannot reach, added Bracken.

He said early tug missions will focus on inclination changes, or smaller altitude adjustments, but a wider range of services will emerge as more OTVs prove capabilities. These include on-orbit transportation from low Earth orbit (LEO) to medium, geostationary, lunar orbits and beyond.

This growing market opportunity recently prompted Germanys Exolaunch, which also brokers rideshare missions, to announce plans to conduct flight tests for its own space tugs next year.

Like Sherpa, Exolaunchs Reliant tugs will first combine with satellites on the ground before sending them to custom orbits post-launch.

In 2023, the company aims to flight test a Reliant Pro configuration capable of making additional adjustments, including the inclination of a satellites orbit.

In the future, Exolaunch hopes its tugs will be able to dispose of space junk before they deorbit after completing their primary mission.

These plans come as the commercial small satellite market matures and proves to not be just a series of one-off launches, according to Exolaunch chief operating officer Alexander Kabanovsky.

Putting satellites into orbit has become predictable, reliable and more affordable, Kabanovsky said.

As a result, the number of satellites slated to go up into space is growing exponentially and individual orbits have become more desirable. With that immense growth also comes the question of management of space debris, responsible use of space and de-orbiting end-of-life satellites to the fore.

D-Orbit has also outlined plans to tackle debris one day with its OTVs, which currently also offer hosted payload services after finishing their satellite deployments, putting the Italian company and Exolaunch in the middle of a space tug market offering cradle-to-grave services.

The satellite-servicing and debris-removal sectors are less developed than the segment of the market aimed at helping small satellites and other secondary payloads reach their final destinations.

However, landmark in-orbit servicing achievements by Northrop Grumman in GEO, and an upcoming demo mission this year in LEO from Astroscale, are propelling the market forward.

Northrop Grummans Mission Extension Vehicle-2 (MEV-2) successfully attached to Intelsats 10-02 spacecraft April 12 to extend its life, marking the first time a servicer has docked with an in-service commercial satellite in GEO.

A year earlier, its predecessor MEV-1 attached to Intelsats IS-901 satellite, lifting the sidelined spacecraft out of GEO graveyard orbit and back into service.

The success of these two missions is showing the industry that in-orbit servicing is now a reality, according to Joe Anderson, vice president of Northrop Grummans SpaceLogistics subsidiary.

We see the future for in-orbit servicing and the possibilities it brings growing exponentially over the next few years, Anderson said.

MEV-1 and MEV-2 will remain docked for five years before moving to a customer it has yet to book.

In the meantime, the company plans to launch more in-orbit servicing products in 2024 that will work in tandem with each other: a Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV) and Mission Extension Pods (MEPs).

The MRV aims to carry out more advanced in-orbit servicing tasks such as installing an MEP, a smaller life extension service that is less expensive than an MEV.

These products will introduce additional capabilities to the market including on-orbit repair, augmentation, assembly and detailed inspection while still offering life extension services, Anderson said.

Our vision is that satellites launched after 2025 will include servicing interfaces that will enable them to be serviceable, maintainable and upgradeable.

Tokyo-based Astroscale also expects servicing interfaces will be fitted to future satellites that make it easier for tugs to carry out missions.

The venture was close to performing its first end-to-end test of key technologies for in-orbit debris removal in early June, with an ELSA-d servicer spacecraft launched to LEO in March.

With a paradigm shift underway, moving from the traditional launch-it-and-leave-it approach to space to one where were building in-space logistics and infrastructure, youre seeing innovative companies moving into this market to take advantage of new demand signals, Dave Fischer, Astroscales vice president of business development and advanced systems, said.

The growing momentum behind space tugs is encouraging others to get hitched to the market.

Two former Blue Origin and NASA engineers founded Kent, Washington-based Starfish Space in late 2019 to launch an all-electric tug called Otter as early as 2023.

Co-founder Trevor Bennett said Otter saves costs by being smaller than others under development, which will enable Starfish to operate a network of them in space for on-demand satellite servicing. Our two core missions will be satellite-life-extension-as-a-service and space-debris-removal-as-a-service, Bennett said.

For life extension this is effectively a subscription model, while for debris removal it looks more like requesting an Uber or Lyft ride.

Starfish and Astroscale are developing servicing businesses for multiple orbits.

Astroscale is exploring business models where value for customers can meet sustainability targets for the space environment.

That could mean multiyear contracts for extending the life of a single satellite in GEO, or it could mean management services across an entire fleet of satellites in multiple orbits, Fischer said.

For government customers, we envision both service models, as well as more traditional sales of spacecraft for government operation.

Anderson of SpaceLogistics said its Mission Extension Pods will include the price of being installed by one of its Mission Robotic Vehicles.

These two products are based on the Mission Extension Vehicles currently in orbit, however, unlike them the MRV will have two dexterous robotic arms.

The MEP is much smaller at about the size of a minifridge, compared with the MEV and MRV that are around the size of a small SUV, and its structure is also simpler because it is only capable of performing orbit control.

Other robotics services such as inspections and repairs are provided as a service fee based on [change in velocity] required, time and complexity of the mission, Fischer continued.

Some form of consolidation is widely expected to take place in the increasingly crowded space tug market.

Although SpaceLogistics has not yet booked follow-on customers for the two satellite servicers currently in operation, Anderson said it sees demand for more than 10 life extension missions a year in GEO.

SpaceLogistics expects to service up to five of these each year with the upcoming launch of its Mission Extension Pods and their robotic installers, leaving room for other providers.

However, Anderson pointed to how consolidation is historically a big part of the aerospace industry.

With such a big influx of startup companies in such a new market area, we should not be surprised by consolidation; especially between companies with complementary capabilities, he said.

And while Spaceflights Bracken said pre-life space tugs are a great offering to expand capabilities and final orbit opportunities for customers, which can reduce the need for onboard propulsion equipment, he noted these are only helpful some of the time.

A customer looking to send a relatively uncomplicated satellite to sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) at 500 kilometers, for instance, might find the lowest launch cost with a rideshare mission because that orbit is heavily serviced.

More often than not, traditional missions will still suit most customers needs, deploying directly from the launch vehicle to the desired orbit, Bracken said.

Because of this, there isnt likely room in the industry for dedicated space tug providers, thus consolidation can be expected.

For Exolaunchs Kabanovsky, the greatest challenge and simultaneously the largest opportunity is to continue to prove that space is economically sustainable.

The additional challenge will be to find cost-effective solutions to large problems, space debris being only one of them, Kabanovsky said.

Keeping investment capital flowing into the industry despite the failures that the industry will inevitably face, will be another interesting issue to overcome.

This article originally appeared in the June 2021 issue of SpaceNews magazine.

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Space Tugs as a Service: In-orbit service providers are bracing for consolidation - SpaceNews

California is famous for its avocados, and avocados are a famously fickle fruit, ripe one moment and a ball of brown sludge the next.

Apeel Sciences is out to change that. The food science company has spent nearly a decade perfecting an edible coating that can be applied to fruits and vegetables to extend shelf-life by days, weeks or even months.

Slowing down the natural decay process offers benefits to consumers, certainly, but it also reduces food waste, and allows growers and vendors more flexibility in how they transport and sell produce.

Food waste is a massive global problem. By some estimates, a third or more of all food (valued at roughly $2.6 trillion) is thrown out enough food to feed 3 billion people. Cutting food waste entirely could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 8%.

For Jenny Du, Vice President of Operations and co-founder of Central Coast-based Apeel, the company's vision represents a perfect mixture of environmental and humanitarian impact.

Du was born and raised in Canada and initially began her career working to develop film-forming technologies that could be used to protect fiber optic sensors to detect water pollution. For her post-doc work, she was drawn to the University of Southern California-Santa Barbara for its photovoltaic research programs. It was there that she met her friend and eventual co-founder James Rogers.

"James had been working on this idea in the background and had pitched it at a UCSB New Venture Competition," said Du, referring to the school's annual contest where students and faculty work together to launch new businesses. "As he talked about the need and the inspiration for the technology, personally it hit some important notes. For me it was about, 'How do I put my energies towards meaningful work?'"

For produce especially, getting products to consumers before it spoils relies on complex global supply chains. Some foods, like asparagus, are only ripe for a few days, meaning they have to be transported by air instead of on a cargo ship, drastically increasing their carbon footprint.

Apeel's technology works by reinforcing the existing outer layer of fruits and vegetablesthe peel, in other words. Produce spoils as the plant's cells lose water and oxidize. The peel slows this process down, but not indefinitely.

"All plants were underwater at some point, but then they evolved to be surface level, terrestrial plants. In order for that to happen, they needed the formation of a peel," explained Du. "With that in mind you think about what that peel is made of."

Using the natural properties of the peel as a guide, scientists at the company have created edible, plant-based coating that dramatically extend shelf lives for eight different types of fruits and vegetables. And people are taking notice.

"This type of technology could be a 'game-changer' if these perishables have a longer shelf life," said Pedro Reyes, an associate professor of operations and supply chain management at Baylor University. Produce often requires refrigeration to extend its life. If that food could just sit on the shelf, it may ease the demands on energy, logistics and warehousing that could ripple throughout the supply.

Apeel produce is available in thousands of grocery stores in six different countries and the company claims its coating technology has saved more than 69 million pieces of produce from being wasted. Its success has attracted $360 million of investment to date, led by such heavy-hitters as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Viking Global Investors, Andreessen Horowitz and Upfront Ventures. In 2020, the 467-person company was valued at over $1 billion.

The company's strategy moving forward is relatively simple: Get more produce into more stores and expand into new types of fruits and vegetables. In the U.S., it has partnered with Kroger as part of their Zero Waste Zero Hunger initiative, which aims to reduce food waste and eliminate hunger in hundreds of communities across the country. But it enjoyed the greatest success in European markets, which Du attributes to the European Commission's climate-focused policies (a partnership with the Danish produce wholesaler Nature's Pride doesn't hurt either).

Apeel is hoping to move into emerging markets in Africa and Asia, as reflected by their recent partnership with the World Bank-owned International Finance Corporation, which specializes in creating economic growth in the developing world.

It's also looking to expand its reach into other parts of the supply chain. In May this year, Apeel acquired San Francisco-based ImpactVision, a company that specializes in hyperspectral imaginga technique that allows users to see inside produce and can reveal the food's ripeness and details about nutritional content. It's all part of Apeel's drive to more precisely align supply with demand.

"We see a future in providing more digital solutions and being a more embedded partner to players in the supply chain," Du said. "So now that they have the edible coating and shelf-life extension technology, how do you make decisions? What do you do with that additional time?"

Lead art by Ian Hurley.

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Apeel Sciences Wants To End Food Waste by Extending the Shelf Life of Your Produce - dot.LA

SUZHOU, China, July 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- CStone Pharmaceuticals ("CStone", HKEX: 2616), a leading biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development, and commercialization of innovative immuno-oncology therapies and precision medicines, today announced that the investigational new drug (IND) application of CS2006/NM21-1480 has been accepted by the Center for Drug Evaluation, National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China. CS2006/NM21-1480 is a monovalent trispecific antibody-based molecule targeting PD-L1, 4-1BB and HSA. Its unique molecular design and innovative mechanism of action help reduce toxicity and improve efficacy. As a potential best-in-class drug, CS2006/NM21-1480 is a new immuno-oncology therapy that could be potentially used as a monotherapy or in combination with multiple treatments.

The clinical program of CS2006/NM21-1480 will further deepen and expand CStone's Pipeline 2.0 strategy. With a forward-looking perspective, CStone has developed an innovative Pipeline 2.0 that consists of assets with first-in-class or best-in-class potential in emerging therapeutic categories.

Dr. Archie Tse, Chief Scientific Officer of CStone, said, "The acceptance of the IND application for CS2006/NM21-1480 marks a significant milestone in CStone's Pipeline 2.0 strategy. In April, 2020, CS2006/NM21-1480 was approved for early clinical development in the U.S. and the study is now well underway. Moving forward, we will step up efforts to drive the development of CS2006/NM21-1480 and other high-quality new drugs to benefit cancer patients."

CS2006/NM21-1480 is designed to bind to 4-1BB and activate T cells only when engaging with PD-L1 on the surface of tumor cells, potentially preventing liver toxicities observed in clinical trials with agonistic monospecific and bivalent anti-4-1BB antibodies.

Compared to other PD-L1/4-1BB bispecific antibody candidates, CS2006/NM21-1480's unique monovalent structure and ultra-high-affinity PD-L1-binding is expected to lead to better safety and higher efficacy. Furthermore, half-life extension via the HSA-binding motif in CS2006/NM21-1480 enables lower-frequency dosing schedules for patients. CS2006/NM21-1480 is anticipated to be effective against tumors with a wide range of PD-L1 expression-levels and may overcome primary and/or acquired resistance to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapies. Therefore, CS2006/NM21-1480 represents a leading class of next-generation cancer immunotherapies and a new backbone molecule for combinations.

Story continues

CS2006/NM21-1480 was discovered and engineered by Numab Therapeutics ("Numab"), CStone's partner, using its proprietary cap technology and MATCH platform. CStone and Numab signed an exclusive regional licensing agreement for the development and commercialization of the drug candidate. Pursuant to the terms of the licensing agreement, CStone will fund the research and development of CS2006/NM21-1480 up to completion of an initial Phase Ib clinical trial. In exchange, CStone obtains exclusive rights from Numab to develop and commercialize CS2006/NM21-1480 in Greater China (including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan), South Korea and Singapore. Numab retains all CS2006/NM21-1480 rights for the rest of the world. Upon completion of CStone's funding period, no further financial obligations will be owed by either party.

About CStone

CStone Pharmaceuticals (HKEX: 2616) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on researching, developing, and commercializing innovative immuno-oncology and precision medicines to address the unmet medical needs of cancer patients in China and worldwide. Established in 2015, CStone has assembled a world-class management team with extensive experience in innovative drug development, clinical research, and commercialization. The company has built an oncology-focused pipeline of 15 drug candidates with a strategic emphasis on immuno-oncology combination therapies. Currently, CStone has received three drug approvals in Greater China, including two in Mainland China and one in Taiwan. CStone's vision is to become globally recognized as a world-renowned biopharmaceutical company by bringing innovative oncology therapies to cancer patients worldwide.

For more information about CStone, please visit: http://www.cstonepharma.com

Forward-looking statement

The forward-looking statements made in this article only relate to events or information as of the date when the statements are made in this article. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or publicly revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should read this article completely and with the understanding that our actual future results or performance may be materially different from what we expect. All statements in this article are made on the date of publication of this article and may change due to future developments.

SOURCE CStone Pharmaceuticals

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CStone announces China NMPA acceptance of IND application for CS2006/NM21-1480, a PD-L1/4-1BB/HSA multi-specific antibody-based molecule, marking...

Global Oral And Dental Probiotics Industry Research Report, Growth Trends and Competitive Analysis 2020-2027

According to this latest study, the 2021 growth of Oral And Dental Probiotics market will have significant change from previous year. By the most conservative estimates of global market size (most likely outcome) will be a year-over-year revenue growth rate of XX% in 2021, from USD XX million in 2020. Over the next five years the Oral And Dental Probiotics market will register a XX% CAGR in terms of revenue, the global market size will reach USD XX million by 2027.

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Global Oral And Dental Probiotics 2021 Size, Status and Global Outlook NatureWise, Blisprobiotics, Hyperbiotics, Lallemand Health Solutions, Life...

Melanie Thomas, Flagler County Extension Director| The Daytona Beach News-Journal

A food allergy is an acquired hypersensitivity reaction to what is normally considered a safe food. Food allergies occur more often in children than in adults: 5%-8% of those age 4 or under and about 2% of adults are affected. Together, about 11 million Americans suffer from some degree of food allergy. Those with severe reactions may experience what is known as anaphylaxis or anaphylactic shock. Annually, around 30,000 people receive life-saving emergency treatment and 150 fatalities occur.

While most food allergies in adults are caused by a small group of foods or food products, early in life food allergies can be caused by a wider variety of foods. About 90% of reported food allergies in children under the age of 4 are caused by dairy products, tree nuts, eggs, wheat and wheat products, peanuts, or soy and soy products.

Dairy, eggs, and soy allergies are commonly outgrown; peanut allergies are almost never outgrown. As an adult, the big eight foods (and their products) account for 90% of food allergies: cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, or their hybridized strains and products), crustaceans, milk, eggs, tree nuts, fish, soybeans and peanuts.

A true allergy is caused by a person's immune system reacting to a food when first eaten. The body "remembers" that food and, when it is eaten again, the immune system overreacts in an excessive and potentially life-threatening way.

Although often misdiagnosed as a food allergy, food intolerance is different. Symptoms of food intolerance usually involve discomfort after eating the causal food, such as bloating, abdominal pain and sometimes diarrhea. Specifically, food intolerance is due to a problem with a persons metabolism, not their immune system. Lactose intolerance, for example, is caused by the inability to produce the digestive enzyme (lactase) that breaks down the sugars found in milk and other dairy products (lactose).

Studies suggest that 10% to 20% of adult Americans incorrectly believe that they or someone in their family has a food allergy. Proper medical authorities should be consulted for confirmation and guidance.

Allergic reactions to food may cause symptoms within seconds of consumption or the symptoms may take up to several hours to develop. Symptoms can occur locally or can be spread over the body or in multiple locations. Redness, itching and swelling (inflammation) are the most well-known and commonly associated symptoms, although several other types of symptoms are possible.

Symptoms associated with the digestive tract may include any one or more of the following:

The greatest danger of a hypersensitivity reaction, or anaphylactic response, is the possibility that air passageways will swell closed and suffocate the victim, or that the victim will go into shock, a state of decreased blood flow that is potentially life-threatening.

If a person has an allergy to a particular food, any meal with that food present, even as a flavoring, may cause an allergic response. If a person is allergic to peanuts, they will be sensitive to the consumption of any food that has peanuts or peanut products (peanut butter, peanut oil, chopped or diced peanuts, etc.) as an ingredient. Treatment or processing of a food does not affect its ability to cause an allergic response. It is important to carefully read food labels and ingredient lists if a person has a known food allergy.

For more information about this or other health and wellness topics, contact Melanie Thomas, Director of UF/IFAS Extension Flagler County at 386-437-7464 or e-mail mlthomas@ufl.edu.

Source: Keith R. Schneider, Rene Goodrich-Schneider, Soohyoun Ahn, Susie Richardson, Ploy Kurdmongkoltham, and Bruna Bertoldi; Food Allergies, FSHN0513, University of Florida

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EXTENSION NOTES What are food allergies and how are they managed? - Daytona Beach News-Journal

By an edhat reader

*All are Welcome*

Wednesday, July 21, 2021, 7:00pm

The Steps of the Santa Barbara Mission

The Santa Barbara community is invited to spend an evening in remembrance of Hal Conklin, whose life has left a lasting impact on so many near and far. Hal was a beloved public servant, friend, family man, and leader whose devotion to Santa Barbara has left a lasting impact. He served as city Mayor from 1993-1994 and on the City Council from 1977-1993, and he helped found the Community Environmental Council, of which he was also a former executive director. Hal was instrumental in the reopening of Stearns Wharf, the extension of Chase Palm Park, the building of Paseo Nuevo, and the restoration of the Granada Theater. The Granada Theater offered this fond tribute to Hals life: he was the heart of Santa Barbara. Hals love for the arts also extended to his work as a co-author for a weekly film commentary called Cinema in Focus where over 1,500 reviews have been published.

The public is invited to join us at the steps of the Mission on Wednesday, July 21, at 7 pm. Provided seating is limited, so for your own comfort please bring a blanket or lawn chair, jacket or mask, as needed.

In lieu of flowers, gifts can be made to the Free Methodist Church of Santa Barbara with the memo Hal Conklin Memorial. Memories and photos of Hal can be shared with the family at https://www.newlywords.com/hal-conklin-memorial using the access word Conklin. Memories and photos will be honored and preserved for the Conklin family.

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Celebrating the Life of Hal Conklin - Santa Barbara Edhat

A proposed project involving the characterization of a new breeding line of tomatoes developed by theTexas A&M AgriLifebreeding program at Weslaco could further enhance Texas reputation for growing exceptional produce, according toTexas A&M AgriLife Researchscientists.

The development of flavorful, nutritious and firm tomatoes with a long shelf life, good appearance and high yield is the holy grail of tomato improvement, said Carlos Avila, AgriLife Research vegetable breeder based at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Weslacoand principal investigator for the project.

Co-principal investigators are Kevin Crosby, AgriLife Research vegetable breeder at Texas A&M University, and Vijay Joshi AgriLife Research vegetable system physiologist at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Uvalde.

Avila said tomato genes such as colorless non-ripening, NOR, and ripening inhibitor, RIN, have been used successfully in modulating fruit firmness and extending the shelf life of commercially available tomatoes, but have fallen short in other areas.

Unfortunately, besides the beneficial effect on delaying softening, these genes negatively affect fruit color, flavor and nutritional value, Avila said. As a result, there is a general concern that most modern tomato cultivars have lost their flavor. This affects both consumption and supermarket sales.

He also noted most commercial cultivars are susceptible to tomato yellow shoulder, a disorder characterized by discolored regions under the fruits skin that reduce its quality and negatively impact consumer acceptance.

The disorder can range from very mild with some internal spotting to quite severe with large areas that are hardened and yellow to white, Avila said.

Carlos Avila, Texas A&M AgriLife Research vegetable breeder.

Texas A&M AgriLife

The teams goal is to produce a long-shelf-life tomato with all the positive traits and characteristics both the produce industry and consumers desire without negatively impacting taste and color.

He said the new year-long project is a continuation of the 2019 project Novel Tomato Fruit Firmness Trait: Breeding for Long Shelf Life While Conserving Flavor Is Now Possible.

For the first year of this project, we evaluated and characterized fruit firmness for trait stability in three locations Weslaco, Uvalde and Bryan-College Station, Avila said. We also developed F1 hybrids, evaluated their shelf life at different storage conditions and developed F2 mapping populations. Our successful accomplishment of these objectives and the very promising data we obtained directed us toward additional lines of investigation in this new project.

Avila said the firmness trait in the newly developed TAM-SP18-157 line is different from NOR- and RIN-gene-carrying commercial tomato cultivars in that it produces extraordinarily firm tomatoes while conserving both flavor and color.

It does this because the ripening process is not inhibited, Avila said. When used as a parental line, the resulting F1 hybrids have shown improved firmness, enhanced sugar and acid content, and higher amounts of dry matter and fruit yield.

The new line produces a firm tomato that does not leak when sliced or diced and has a uniformly red color traits highly desired by both the industry and consumers, he said.

This second-year project will focus on production and multi-location testing, along with trait characterization for marker-assisted breeding and registration of the TAM-SP18-157, Avila said.

Field trials at Weslaco and Uvalde during the 2019 spring season demonstrated TAM-SP18-157 has an excellent combining ability when used as a parent for hybrid cultivar development.

When crossed as a male pollen donor with soft tomato lines, the resulting F1 hybrids increased fruit firmness in 30% of the tomatoes, dry matter in 15%, sugar content in 11%, and acidity in 10%, as compared to the soft tomato parents, Avila said. Additionally, F1 hybrids showed a 67% increase in the yield, indicating TAM-SP18-157 can be used as a parent to improve both tomato quality and yield.

Joshi said one of the aspects of his work on the new project will be to analyze and quantify the amount of glutamic and aspartic acids in the new tomato line.

We have already harvested some of the tomatoes grown here at the Uvalde center for testing and will be checking them for these two aroma-active amino acids that are integral to tomato flavor, he said.

The fruit firmness in the TAM-SP18-157 breeding line is superior to what was expected. The tomatoes average compression peak indicates a fruit 70% firmer compared to the average firmness in the Texas A&M tomato breeding population.

This additional firmness provides for a longer shelf life, even when the tomato is harvested when completely ripe, Avila said. This allows the tomatoes to fully develop their flavor and nutritional content while staying fresh for a longer period.

Initial testing also showed TAM-SP18-157 is highly resistant to tomato yellow shoulder disorder.

Yellow shoulder is not a delayed ripening, but an actual disorder of the affected tissue in which green chlorophyll in these regions fails to develop red pigment, Avila said. In this instance, the practice of letting the fruit remain on the vine longer so it can color up does not work. Neither does increasing the quantity of potassium fertilizer once there is abundant fruit hanging due to the disorder showing up very shortly after fruit set.

Comparison of Zapotec tomato with yellow shoulder disease to the improved breeding line of tomato developed by Texas A&M AgriLife.

Texas A&M AgriLife

Crosby said he will continue his first phase research by addressing flavor and heat stress aspects of tomato development as well as disease resistance.

He said the initial research indicated early potassium applications can reduce symptoms of the yellow shoulder disorder, though it is necessary to apply a larger amount than what would normally sustain yield, which would increase production costs.

In this new project, fruit from 400 individual F2 plants will be collected to evaluate firmness and yellow-shoulder-resistance-traits inheritance using probability tests, Crosby said.

The valuable traits of TAM-SP18-157 can be used to substantially improve fruit firmness and resistance to yellow shoulder while also retaining flavor and improving dry matter, sugar content, acidity, shelf life and yield in fresh and specialty high-value heirloom tomato cultivars.

But to introduce these novel traits for continuous cultivar development, the genetic bases need to be understood and molecular markers linked to the trait need to be developed, Avila said.

He said trait characterization will be performed on TAM-SP18-157, F1 hybrids and the developed F2 population to determine genetic versus environmental components and develop molecular markers linked to the traits.

Juan Landivar, director of the Texas A&M AgriLife center in Weslaco, said the successful characterization and introduction of these traits into commercial cultivars has the potential to revolutionize fresh tomato consumption in a similar way as the Texas A&M mild jalapeo and sweet 1015 onion traits did for their respective commodities.

These peppers and onions that were developed previously brought a lot of attention and consumer interest, which translated to improved sales and greater awareness of Texas as an innovator in the development of new lines of produce, Landivar said. We expect the new tomato improvements will do much the same.

More important, he said, the development of flavorful and nutritious tomatoes with a long shelf life, good appearance and high yield would lead to healthy lives and livelihoods improved through ensuring an abundant supply of nutritious foods.

Avila said he hopes new project results will lead to a publication of trait characterization and breeding line description for TAM-SP18-157 in a suitable scientific journal for public release, and the seed would ultimately be registered and made available through a material transfer agreement.

Originally posted here:

In Search Of The 'Holy Grail' Of Tomatoes - Texas A&M Today - Texas A&M University Today

In a major blow to Israels fledgling coalition, the Knesset on Tuesday morning failed to approve an extension of the contentious Palestinian family reunification law, after a rebel member of Prime Minister Naftali Bennetts Yamina party voted against the measure.

The early morning vote after an all-night debate ended in a tie, with 59 lawmakers supporting the motion and 59 opposing it, meaning the law will expire later Tuesday.

Bennett early Tuesday had declared that he regarded the vote as a motion of confidence in the government, after reaching a compromise agreement with the coalitions Islamist Raam party and the left-wing Meretz and Labor to extend the law by six months instead of for a year. Whoever votes in favor [of the legislation] is expressing confidence in the government. Whoever votes against, is expressing no confidence in the government, Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy said on Bennetts behalf.

However, even if the opposition had mustered an absolute majority of 61 MKs in the vote, the government would have remained intact. To bring down the coalition, the opposition would need to muster 61 or more votes, backing a specific, named candidate for prime minister, in a formal motion of no confidence in the government.

The family reunification law, which blocks the automatic granting of Israeli citizenship or residency to Palestinians on the basis of marriage to an Israeli, was first enacted in 2003, and has been extended annually.

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The law was initially passed after some 130,000 Palestinians entered Israel via family reunification between 1993 and 2003, including during the Second Intifada onslaught of Palestinian terrorism. The stated prime concern at the time was that some Palestinians gaining Israeli status would engage in terrorism, but there was also a demographic goal: The security establishment assesses that some 200,000 Palestinians would gain Israeli citizenship or residency each decade were it not for this legislation, Channel 12 reported.

The Shin Bet security agency, in an opinion widely quoted in Hebrew media in recent days, has stated that the primary danger posed by family reunifications stems from the potential recruitment [of Palestinians who become Israeli citizens or residents] by terrorist organizations, and their high potential to act as lone terrorists.

The deadline for reextending the legislation was midnight on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (center) and ministers during a Knesset discussion on the Palestinian family reunification law in Jerusalem, July 6, 2021. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The compromise agreement was put forward by Labor lawmaker Ibtisam Maraana and included in addition to reducing the proposed extension to just six months issuing some 1,600 Palestinian families with A-5 residency visas and establishing a committee to find humanitarian solutions to the other 9,700 Palestinians residing in Israel on military-issued stay permits.

At the moment of truth, two of Raams four lawmakers supported the bill and two others abstained, but Yamina MK Amichai Chikli voted against, joining the opposition led by Benjamin Netanyahu in voting against the motion. While the right-wing Likud and Religious Zionism opposition parties support the law in principle, they voted against extending it, along with the ultra-Orthodox parties and the Joint List, to embarrass the government.

Chikli voted last month against the establishment of the new coalition, which spans right-wing, centrist, left-wing and Islamist parties and has a razor-thin Knesset majority, even though it made his own party leader Bennett prime minister. But he subsequently said he would vote with the coalition on most matters, seemingly giving it a cushion.

After the vote, Chikli said his decision to block the extension was due to the compromise deal: Tonight we received proof of the problematic nature of a government that doesnt have a distinct Zionist majority one that starts the night with a law extension for a year and ends it with an extension for half a year, that starts with 1,500 permits and ends with over 3,000.

Israel needs a functioning Zionist government, not a mishmash that depends on Raam and Meretz votes, Chikli said.

He later added that had the original extension motion gone up for a vote without capitulating to Meretz and Raam he would have supported it.

Yamina MK Amichai Chikli at the Knesset on June 22, 2021 (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Reacting to the vote, Yamina slammed the right-wing opposition parties and charged that they had joined forces with the predominantly Arab Joint List.

The opposition, led by Bibi and [Joint List MK Ahmad] Tibi, didnt manage to topple the government, but together they dealt a severe blow to Israels security, the party said in a statement, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname.

This is petty politics at the expense of Israeli citizens. This is the reason theyre in the opposition, and thats where theyll stay. For Bibi, if hes not in power, the state can go up in flames, the statement added.

Yamina No. 2, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, tweeted that the vote was a big victory for post-Zionism.

Whoever didnt see the celebrations by Likud and Religious Zionism members together with [Joint List MKs] Ofer Cassif and Sami Abu Shehadeh hasnt seen madness in their life, Shaked wrote. Together they rejected the citizenship law, an important law for Israels security and [Jewish] character.

Housing Minister Zeev Elkin, a former Likud lawmaker and now an MK for the right-wing New Hope coalition party, said Netanyahus bloc had become the Joint Lists useful idiot.

Recalling recent Likud election campaign slogans casting the vote as a choice between Bibi or Tibi, Elkin said: Today a new alliance has been formed: Bibi and Tibi.

Netanyahus Likud party feted the achievement.

A corrupt deal reached in the middle of the night between Bennett, [Foreign Minister Yair] Lapid and Shaked and Raam and Meretz has collapsed due to a determined battle waged by the opposition, led by Netanyahu, the statement said. Bennett and Lapid wanted to buy two Raam votes in exchange for allowing thousands of [Palestinian] people to enter, endangering Israels Zionist identity.

Bezalel Smotrichs far-right Religious Zionism party similarly slammed the compromise deal, alleging that Bennett and Shaked had sold out the State of Israel and agreed to grant Palestinians the right of return in several installments. It blasted Yamina for trying to reach agreements with terror supporters rather than with the opposition.

Smotrich castigated Shaked, a former ally political ally, as a former prime ministerial candidate who had become a dishrag who sold out the Zionist enterprise to the supporters of terrorism.

Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked gives a statement at the Knesset in Jerusalem on July 5, 2021. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

During the Knesset debate after midnight, Shaked interrupted the proceedings to announce the compromise deal, which had been reached in a telephone call between coalition party leaders.

Under the agreement, Meretz voted for the deal along with Raam MKs Mansour Abbas and Walid Taha.

Shaked pointed out to the Knesset that the number of permits that would be issued under the agreement was equivalent to those given out by former interior minister Aryeh Deri of the Shas party.

The announcement was met with angry calls from opposition parties in the Knesset.

According to the agreement, the Knesset would have established a supervisory committee under Cabinet Secretary Shalom Shlomo with representatives from the Interior Ministry, the Population, Immigration, and Borders Authority, and a parliamentarian to be named later. Every month, the committee would have provided the Knesset with a report. And within 90 days, the committee would have provided policy alternatives to the current ban.

Earlier, Bennett warned opposition parties not to cross the red line of harming Israels national security ahead of the vote.

There are some things you dont play with. The nation needs control over who comes in, Bennett said in a statement to the press at the opening of a faction meeting of his Yamina party. National security is a red line.

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In blow to coalition, Knesset knocks down extension of family unification law - The Times of Israel

A research and development (R&D) project being conducted by Agriculture Victoria looking at integrated quality management of stone fruit along the supply chain has given better knowledge of export performance, according to the researchers.

Horticulturist and supply chain researcher Dr John Lopresti explained the 4-5-year project at Hort Connections, explaining the state government department's innovation protocol to maximise storage and shelf-life of not just stone fruit but mangoes. He says quite often supply chain models do not consider pre-harvest or what happens in the orchard.

"That is one of the most important factors in determining quality loss, and quality in general in export," he said. "In pre-harvest, we are looking at the effect of individual cultivars, harvest maturity, agronomic practices and climate or environment. Then we have post-harvest treatments such as cooling, disinfestation, storage life extension and packaging. So, we have all these technologies or the ability to control or modify the way we handle our crops, and we all know that storage temperature is a key factor during export and storage duration. All these factors determine the quality loss during export."

Photo: Stone fruit data logging (Source: Horticulture Industry Networks website)

He added that post-harvest research has been conducted for 40-50 years but has noticed a renewed interest in this area of supply chain research and this has led to more accurate and integrated results from R&D. Dr Lopresti says updated approaches are required because of new cultivars, new post-harvest treatments and changes in export market protocols and expectations.

The department did some simulations on air and sea freight in terms of cultivar performance and potential storage disorders for stone fruit, and real-time temperature monitoring, which allowed them to put together a shelf-life prediction calculator and model.

"For this project, we worked with Victorian growers and exporters in stone fruit, cherries and table grapes using various real-time logger technologies," Dr Lopresti said. "We monitored more than 100 consignments over four years in both sea and air freight and did some retail quality assessments in the markets. We also used the data we collected to design our sea and air freight simulation trials. We all understand how important (temperature monitoring) is in the supply chain and it really should be standard practice for exporters - especially with the technology being cheap and easy to use. It potentially enables action during export, so shipments can be re-routed or action can be taken if temperatures spike, in real-time."

Dr Lopresti says the real-time temperature data can also be used to estimate or predict the remaining shelf life of a particular crop in the export market, based on the temperature up to that point in the supply chain.

Photo: Delegates at Hort Connections listening to Dr Lopresti's presentation via videolink (Courtesy: AUSVEG)

The project also looked at stepwise cooling after harvest. He says that there are a number of crops that are sensitive to chilling injury after harvest, including white nectarines. After more than five weeks in storage, they tend to develop flesh browning and do not ripen properly, which ultimately leads to a poor eating experience for the consumer.

"We looked at a technique where instead of directly cooling from the field down to 0-2 degrees within 24 hours, we cooled the fruit to a medium temperature of 12-18 degrees over 48 hours then cooled to final storage temperature," Dr Lopresti said. "We had a significant reduction in chilling injury and flesh browning in long term storage. We found that those storage durations of 35-42 days are occurring in export markets, and sea freight is taking sometimes four weeks from Australia to the imported destinations. Those long storage durations are not unusual for stone fruit, and that is a real issue. We also developed commercial protocols for growers and exporters to implement pre-conditioning, and we will have some major exporters trialling this next season to try and improve their fruit."

Simulation experiments were also conducted across 6-7 cultivars, with the early harvested fruit and commercially harvested fruit, to take into account harvest maturity. Along with real-time temperature data, the Department has formed a prediction tool or calculator, and Dr Lopresti says he has been able to get an accuracy of 2-3 days, which is fairly good due to the variability in stone fruit crops, even if picked at the same maturity.

"It is a simple calculator based on comprehensive research that can provide retailers, importers and exporters some idea of potential issues, or remaining shelf life for a particular cultivar," he said. "This is a good way forward in terms of shelf-life prediction. In general, the work also highlighted that there needs to be more post-harvest testing in breeding programs, and that applies to other fruit and vegetable crops, not just stone fruit. There is a better understanding of the impact of temperature on quality and shelf-life, and the impact of poor temperature management with stone fruit might not be apparent until late in the supply chain."

For information on not just this research but other fruit and vegetable R&D projects, visit Agriculture Victoria's Horticulture Industry Networks.

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How developing predictive modeling tool can lead to better fruit consistency in the supply chain - FreshPlaza.com