If you’ve ever been annoyed by the sound of someone eating, especially as they noisily slurp (出声地吃) noodles, don’t worry, you’re not alone.

A company has recently designed a fork that connects to an app on your smartphone, which will then play noise cancelling sounds if you happen to slurp your noodles too loudly.

The fork was designed with a microphone in its handle that is trained to recognize the sound of slurping. The microphone will then send a signal to the phone app, setting off the noise cancelling sounds.

The company that designed the fork, called Otohiko fork, was inspired by what is called “noodle harassment” by social medians, which is running wild in Japan.

“The Japanese, who generally dislike noisy eating, consider it proper and even preferable to suck up one’s noodles with a loud slurping sound.”

Unfortunately for visitors, however, such enthusiastic slurping tends to grate on their nerves, which is what leads to the creation of the phrase “noodle harassment” in the first place.

The company behind the fork, Nissin, is the very same company that invented Cup Noodles，who brought instant noodles to the world nearly 70 years ago, so they are definitely worried about whether or not foreigners are put off by the sound of slurping noodles.

The fork is being sold for a good $130, but those bothered enough by noodles slurpers will likely find it well worth the money.

Nissin is only planning a limited run of 5,000 forks for the time being, which can now be pre-ordered only through their website.

The company is planning to begin releasing them just in time for the holidays. Of course, it still remains to be seen if the fork can be programmed to drown out the sound of loud chewers, which is probably of greater concern to sensitive western friends.

Vinegar is great. It makes salad, fries and dumplings taste better, and you can even clean your windows with it. And now, according to scientists，it may even help the planet's population survive climate change. Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science （CSRS） in Japan proved that. They found growing plants in vinegar makes them more resistant to droughts. This could mean that in the future, worries about climate change affecting the world's supply of food will be much lower．

The discovery was made after the researchers studied the Arabidopsis, a plant known for its ability to survive in dry weather. It was found that when the plant was placed in drought-like conditions, it produced a chemical called acetate （醋酸盐）-the main component of vinegar．

After discovering this, the scientists experimented further by adding acetate to the soil of other plants before they stopped giving them water completely. After leaving the plants for 14 days, they found that the ones treated with acetate had survived, while the untreated plants had dried up and died．

It's hoped that this simple method of survival could soon be used to help farmers in dry countries keep their crops alive, "In the experiment, we targeted the staple foods of the world-rice, wheat and maize…and proved successful" Jong Myong Kim, co-author of the study, told Popular Science magazine．

Kim has already been in touch with people around the world who are interested in trying this simple and cost-effective method out for themselves from farmers to companies and amateur gardeners. "Now we are trying to cooperate with them to make a method to apply this system, and make the process as simple as possible," he said. Hopefully this means the end of hunger caused by bad weather in the future．

Israeli Company Develops 3D Printed Beef

If there were an award for the funniest company name of 2022, then the 3D printed meat company “Steakholder” would win that award.

Israeli company Steakholder Foods Ltd. has introduced its new product, Omakase Beef Morsels, which are bioprinted with cultured meat. The bites are inspired by the world-famous Wagyu beef, famous for its fat marbling patterns (大理石花纹) in the meat, which is also very expensive.

The company was formed in 2019 and has an office in Israel and Belgium, and is now expanding its operations to the US. 【小题1】

Stakeholder uses stem cells from cattle for the production of its printed beef, and the muscle tissue and fat are printed from two separate bio-inks. 【小题2】 A bite can be made juicier, chewier, and the taste can also be altered.

The process works by first selecting the animals to extract (提取) the stem cells from. The cells are selected from animals that will provide the best meat and yield. The next step is proliferation, in which the cells are placed into a nutrient rich reactor to multiply. When the cells reach appropriate numbers, the stem cells change into muscle cells and fat cells. 【小题3】

“This product marks a major step forward for us and for the cultured meat industry in general,” said Arik Kaufman, CEO of Steakholder Foods. “It is the result of a lot of hard work and our desire to achieve the highest level of meat possible through bioprinting and cell culture processes.”

【小题4】 Its patent for 3D-bioprinting technology is the result of intensive cooperation between its 3D printing engineers and cell biologists. “We see Omakase Beef Morsels as the combination of food, technology and fine art,” Kaufman said. “We want to inspire chefs around the world to create delicious masterpieces and unforgettable dining experiences.”

So there you have it, guilt-free meat eating may be just around the corner.