Love at first click, an end to rotten strawberries, and more – the 5 stories you might have missed last week

Harvard Development Expert – Agricultural Innovation Offers Only Path to Feed Africa and the World
Africa Fully Feeding Itself?
Did anyone ever tell you not to waste your food because there are starving children in Africa? Well, perhaps World Hunger in Africa does not need the helpful hands of fellow first-world nations, but instead can solve the problem from within. Harvard Professor, Calestous Juma is a Kenya-born scientist who insists that if Africa simply installs innovations through agricultural biotechnology then it could potentially feed itself within a generation. With genetically-designed crops, Africa could become home to bananas and black-eyed peas that are not only key ingredients to a healthy diet but could serve as major revenue as an export for the nation as well. 

Texting Proves Beneficial in Auditory Overload Situations
Let Me Shoot You a Quick Text!
Imagine being military personnel, with multiple auditory messages thrown at you every minute from officials, radios, and live communication. Each of these messages need to be translated clearly and accurately, which lead Canadian researchers to experiment the use of text messages during military operations. This brings the message to a visual level and triggers the brain not to participate in disregarded listening. The findings showed that although the participants did not have trouble with the auditory messages in a headset, they were less aware of the communication given over the loudspeaker. However, the visual text messages were the easiest to understand and execute. 

Meeting Online Leads to Happier, More Enduring Marriages
Love At First Click
It used to be that you barely got to know your spouse before you tied the knot. Today, one third of marriages come from online relationships where users can sift through contenders’ information without having to endure an awkward first date. A new study at the University of Chicago states that couples that meet online have less marital breakups at 6%, while 7.6% of couples who meet face to face suffer marital endings. This study also claimed that marriages that stemmed from online relationships are filled with more affection, communication, happiness, and love than couples who first met in a face-to-face, offline meeting. Why Innovation Thrives in Cities
Crowded Cities are in For a Wake-Up Call
Don’t you hate that feeling of a packed subway? Well, picture a less-populated city suddenly gaining that packed subway feel. The Santa Fe Institute states that when the population of a city grows rapidly, its productivity jumps 130%. Researchers from MIT looked into the numbers and what exactly happens when cities experiences major population booms. Productivity increases a city’s social-tie density and vice versa, which can be described as the average number of people in a city who will interact with others face-to-face. At its perfect number, social-tie density will benefit cities determined by lower crime rates, adequate public transportation, and good scaling. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/miot-wit060413.php

Behold, the 9-Day Fresh Strawberry:New Approach to Slowing Rot Doubles Berry Shelf Life
Say Goodbye to Rotten Strawberries
One of the most frustrating things is purchasing a new carton of fresh strawberries and watching them go bad within a week. But with the Department of Agriculture on the case, we might be welcoming the new and improved nine day mold-less strawberry! Using LED and UV rays, strawberries stay fresher for almost twice the amount of time as they usually do. The team is now looking into ways they can start installing UV-LEDs into home refrigerators. They believe that this information will affect the appliance industry due to the increased shelf-life of strawberries and most likely other fresh produce, while also saving families money in groceries.