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Technology and Society

on May 29, 2023

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Using cover plants to remove pollutants from arable soil

Ways to improve soil health in agriculture Date: March 25, 2025 Source: Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ Summary: Nitrate, pesticides, metals, plastic -- agricultural soils often contain pollutants. But are there sustainable and climate-friendly ways to restore and promote soil health in agricultural land? Yes, says a research team. Specific plant species could be used as cover plants for phytoremediation, i.e. to relief agricultural land from adverse pollutant impacts. In their article, the researchers summarize the results of more than 100 scientific studies and present which plants, according to current knowledge, are suitable for removing pollutants from agricultural soils or trapping them in their root systems. Farmers often grow so-called cover plants between main crops. They are used for purposes such as for animal feeds or remain on the field as green manure. In this way, they supply the soil with nutrients before the next planting. However, cover plants also...

Biological pathway in the brain could help explain why teenage girls are more depressed than boys

Date: March 25, 2025 Source: King's College London Summary: Research has shown that a biological brain mechanism called the 'kynurenine pathway' is imbalanced in adolescents with depression, and this imbalance is more pronounced in teenage girls than boys. Depression is a mental health condition that affects 280 million people worldwide. It is twice as common in women than men and this pattern starts to develop during adolescence . Researchers have studied the biological processes that drive depression in adults and shown a potential role for the kynurenine pathway , but this is the first time it has been investigated in adolescents in relation to biological sex. The study was published in Biological Psychiatry and funded by MQ Mental Health Research and supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre (BRC). The 'kynurenine pathway' is a series of chemical reactions that processes tryptophan, an amino ...

Plant doctor: An AI system that watches over urban trees without touching a leaf

Researchers combine machine vision and segmentation techniques into a tool to monitor urban plant health at the individual leaf level Date: April 2, 2025 Source: Waseda University Summary: Monitoring urban plant health traditionally requires extensive manual labor and botanical expertise, creating challenges for cities facing expanding green spaces, higher population densities, and increasing threats to plants. Now, researchers have developed 'Plant Doctor,' an artificial intelligence-based tool that could revolutionize plant health monitoring. The proposed system can track individual leaves in urban video footage and precisely quantify the damage from pests and diseases, enabling scalable, non-invasive urban plant management. Urban trees and plants do more than just beautify city landscapes . They purify the air, reduce urban heat islands, provide recreational spaces, and even boost property values. As essential components of sustainable urban ecosystems, plants silently ...

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