Protein-enriched ketchup gets boost from algae extracts

Added protein is showing up in foods from breakfast cereal to pasta, but not many condiments … yet. Researchers have now developed an enriched tomato ketchup by incorporating protein extracted from algae. A panel of taste testers preferred recipes containing up to 3% added algal extract, saying the samples maintained the sweet, tangy taste and reddish appearance expected of the condiment.

An elegant modification doubles the range of low-noise 'white lasers' in a single fiber

Supercontinuum light sources—often called "white lasers" because they emit a broad, continuous rainbow of colors—are essential tools for everything from advanced medical imaging to environmental gas detection. However, researchers have historically faced a frustrating trade-off: A broad spectrum comes at the expense of high fluctuations, which has effectively limited their use.

How 'smart' hydrogel packaging tells you if your food is still fresh

The cuts of meat in a supermarket case can look perfectly fresh even as bacteria are already multiplying inside the package. Is there a way to know before you open it?

One ant can trigger colony-wide activity bursts, mathematical model suggests

Scientists have long known that ant colonies sometimes seem to move as one. A nest that appears quiet can suddenly erupt into activity, with workers throughout the colony springing into motion almost simultaneously before settling back into stillness.

Liquid nitrogen may have recently flowed across Pluto's heart-shaped glacier

A new study led by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) provides evidence that liquid nitrogen is rising to Pluto's surface through cracks at the northern edge of Sputnik Planitia, part of the massive heart-shaped glacier on the dwarf planet's surface. This is the first evidence of liquid flow occurring recently on Pluto. The study is based on data from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft and led by SwRI Associate Vice President Dr. Alan Stern, the principal investigator of the New Horizons mission.

World’s most-used weedkiller disrupts honeybee brains

Flowering plants in pollinator gardens, agricultural fields, and residential landscapes often grow alongside weeds that are controlled with herbicides. Honeybees regularly visit these same areas while collecting nectar and pollen, raising questions about what happens when they are exposed to weedkillers during their daily foraging.

The AMOC stayed strong even as a major ocean “lifeline” nearly shut down

Scientists have long believed that warm, salty water flowing from the Indian Ocean around the southern tip of Africa and into the Atlantic helps support one of the planet's most important ocean circulation systems. This flow, known as Agulhas Leakage, has been considered a major contributor to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), which forms part of the global ocean conveyor system.

The mathematics of balloon animals | New Scientist

Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more

Bloons and doubloons

This edition of Feedback is an exercise in time travel – in that every item is something from absolutely ages ago that we somehow missed. We would feel guilty, but it is the summer holidays (in the northern hemisphere, anyway) and many readers will have half an eye on their errant children, so we thought we could get away with it.