Mia Asano, an electric violinist hailing from Denver, Colorado, combines
classical training with a passion for alternative music. A Berklee College of
Music graduate with a dual major in Violin Performance and Professional Music,
Mia gained early recognition in the Colorado fashion scene before achieving
global success on TikTok and Instagram.
Her viral videos, with over 10 million views, catapulted her into the
spotlight, leading to collaborations with renowned artists like Dragonforce,
Two Steps From Hell, and Lindsey Stirling. Mia has graced prestigious venues,
including Carnegie Hall, and toured internationally, leaving an indelible mark
on stages in Vienna and Valencia.
Recipient of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's best Violin performance award in
2020, Mia's violin prowess shines in diverse genres, from rock and metal to
electronic and Celtic music. Her love for breaking musical boundaries and
spreading positivity is evident in her projects, including collaborations
with Ally the Piper and the RAMENSTEIN quartet. Mia's most recent album with
Ally the Piper, Mia X Ally: The Viral Hits, reached the impressive position
of #6 on the Billboard Classical Crossover chart.
As a featured violinist on Two Steps From Hell's 2023 European Arena Tour,
Mia Asano continues to captivate audiences with her dynamic performances.
Thomas Bergersen, acclaimed composer and member of Two Steps From Hell,
expressed admiration for Mia on his Instagram: "[Mia] has achieved so much
in her life at such a young age. She was born for the stage and showers
everyone with beautiful violin playing and her contagious smile. She brings
out something special in all of us."
Maryland's two U.S. senators have announced a significant development in the preservation efforts for the Chesapeake Bay. This announcement comes as a part of the recently passed agriculture appropriations bill, unveiling package aimed at supporting catfish processing and saving other species within the bay.
Blue catfish, recognized as a major predator threatening the bay's ecosystem, preying on crabs, rockfish, and oysters, have long been a concern for fisheries. In response, federal funding provisions within the bill will channel resources to Maryland, forming a comprehensive four-part package to address the issue.
"One way to control it is to eat it. And one way to encourage more commercial fishing on catfish is to make it more economically viable," remarked U.S. Senator Ben Cardin.
The allocation of $4.5 million will facilitate the expansion of processing facilities, provide marketing assistance, continuing to pay USDA inspectors, and help DNR and others to fight the catfish.
"This funding brings a lot more opportunities for sustainable growth of the blue catfish industry. Because we're focused on processing, marketing, and ensuring around-the-clock operations," stated Senator Chris Van Hollen.
Nick Hargrove, owner of the Eastern Shore's only USDA-certified blue catfish processing facility, emphasized the importance of stability in the industry. "The goal here is to provide a more stable industry for the fishermen. That way we can handle the capacities when the fish are really coming ashore," Hargrove said.
Hargrove explained his facility processes around 100,000 lbs. of catfish per week and he is looking to expand to a facility in Ridgely, Md.
In addition to funding for processing expansion, efforts to curb the invasive catfish population have also gained momentum. The Department of Natural Resources unveiled a new initiative called the Department of Invasive Species Program, specifically targeting the eradication of blue catfish. Maryland Secretary of Natural Resources, Josh Kurtz, emphasized the program's focus on understanding catfish biology and its ecosystem impact to develop effective management strategies.
"It will allow us to really look at the biology of the catfish, the ecosystem itself, and focus on the actions that we can take at the department and how we can support the ecosystem of others that are doing the work too," Kurtz explained.
It might help to build the market a little, but I think we can safely predict that the Blue Catfish in the Chesapeake Bay will survive the assault of the bureaucrats.
It may soon be time to wake up and smell the lab-grown coffee made from
cultured plant cells. But it's not clear whether drinks from this product
replicate coffee beans' complex flavors. Now, a study in ACS' Journal of
Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that some of the comforting aromas and
tastes of a conventional cup of coffee could be reproduced by roasting and
brewing coffee cell cultures.
Coffee is one of the most popular
beverages worldwide. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 23
billion pounds of beans are expected to be produced during the 2023-24 growing
season. However, coffee cultivation is increasingly threatened by a
warming climate because the plants grow only at specific temperatures and
altitudes.
Researchers have been investigating lab-grown coffee
plant cells since the 1970s as an alternative to farmed beans, but little
research has evaluated how laboratory products taste and smell compared to
traditional beans. So, Hieko Rischer and coworkers tested how roasting
coffee plant cells impacts them and the beverage made from them.
The
team first cultured cells from chopped Coffea arabica leaves in a
laboratory-scale bioreactor. Then the cells were freeze-dried, ground
into a fine powder and roasted under three different conditions. Longer
roasting times produced colors similar to dark roast coffee beans; the
researchers mentioned this was important for flavor perception.
Additionally,
the current lab-grown powders contained twice as much caffeine as previous
bioreactor coffee products, although the current powders' levels were much
lower than those in farmed beans. The team brewed beverages with the
roasted cell cultures or dark roast C. arabica beans and served them to
trained taste-testers.
The following conclusions were
drawn:
Panelists identified similar levels of bitterness and sourness in
lab-grown and conventional drinks.
The new brews had more roasted, burned
sugar, and smokey smells.
Some Maillard reaction products that give
coffee its distinct flavor, such as guaiacol and several pyrazines, weren't
found in the cell-based drinks, though other Maillard reaction products were
present.