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MIT scientists invent new technology that grows much healthier fruits and vegetables


An innovative technique using biodegradable silk microneedles could transform agriculture by delivering nutrients directly to plants.

Associate professor Benedetto Marelli at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT) leads a team that built microneedle arrays from silk to inject crops with various substances, including vitamins and minerals. Unlike metal or plastic, silk proteins are gentle on living tissue, an idea that first drew medical engineers to microneedles for painless vaccine delivery two decades ago. Beyond food, similar silk structures could deliver growth factors to tree seedlings in reforestation projects or vaccines to cash crops threatened by viral blights.

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