'Chocolate-flavored' honey created using cocoa bean shells

A group of researchers  developed a product made from native bee honey and cocoa bean shells that can be consumed directly or used as an ingredient in food and cosmetics. The results were published in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering.

The researchers used native bee honey as an edible solvent to extract stimulants such as theobromine and caffeine, which are associated with heart health, from cocoa bean shells. These shells are usually discarded during the production of chocolate and other cocoa derivatives. The ultrasound-assisted extraction process also enriched the honey with phenolic compounds, which have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

The researchers who tasted it say that, depending on the ratio of honey to shells, it has a strong chocolate flavor, although they are still planning tests on the product's taste and other sensory properties.

 Felipe Sanchez Bragagnolo et al, Stingless Bee Honeys As Natural and Edible Extraction Solvents: An Intensified Approach to Cocoa Bean Shell Valorization, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering (2025). DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.5c04842

Bacteria 'pills' could detect gut diseases—without the endoscope

Move over, colonoscopies—researchers report in ACS Sensors that they've developed a sensor made of tiny microspheres packed with blood-sensing bacteria that detect markers of gastrointestinal disease. Taken orally, the miniature "pills" also contain magnetic particles that make them easy to collect from stool.

Once excreted from mouse models with colitis, the bacterial sensor detected gastrointestinal bleeding within minutes. The researchers say the bacteria in the sensor could be adapted to detect other gut diseases.

This technology provides a new paradigm for rapid and noninvasive detection of gastrointestinal diseases.

How it works ....

Previously, the researchers developed heme-sensing bacteria that light up in the presence of blood, but the bacterial sensors break down in the digestive system and are hard to collect. In this current study, they encapsulated their heme-detecting bacteria and magnetic particles inside globs of sodium alginate, a thickening agent used in foods.

The process creates tiny hydrogel microsphere sensors that can easily be removed from feces with a magnet after they travel through the body. Initial tests showed that the hydrogel protected the bacteria from simulated digestive fluids but also allowed heme to interact with the bacterial sensor, causing it to glow.

The team administered the microspheres orally to mouse models of colitis, representing disease levels from no activity to severe stages. After the microspheres traveled through the animals' gastrointestinal systems, the researchers retrieved the sensors from feces with a magnet and found:
Microsphere cleanup and signal analysis took about 25 minutes.
As the disease stage progressed, the intensity of the light produced by the sensor increased, which indicated more heme from mouse models with more advanced colitis.
Assessments of healthy mice given the sensor indicated the microspheres were biocompatible and safe.
Although the sensor still needs to be tested in humans, the researchers say that this method of encapsulating bacterial sensors could diagnose gastrointestinal diseases and monitor treatments and disease progression.

 Magnetic Hydrogel: Enhanced Bacterial Biosensor for Speedy Gut Diseases Detection, ACS Sensors (2025). DOI: 10.1021/acssensors.5c01813

Microplastics detected in 100% of donkey feces: Study links plastic pollution to animal deaths and food risks
Microplastics were found in 100% of donkey and cattle fecal samples on Lamu Island, indicating widespread ingestion of plastic waste by livestock. This contamination is linked to animal health issues, including fatal colic, and raises concerns about microplastic transfer to humans through the food chain. The findings highlight urgent risks to animal welfare, food safety, and ecosystem health.

Emily Haddy et al, Ingestion of terrestrial plastic pollution by free-roaming livestock, including working donkeys: an interdisciplinary assessment, Cambridge Prisms: Plastics (2025). DOI: 10.1017/plc.2025.10036