Workers sort salmon, brought from a fish farm in the Barents Sea, at a processing factory in the Arctic port of Murmansk, Russia. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

The Laser Battle against Blood-Sucking Parasites of the Deep
The world’s largest salmon fishery, Marine Harvest, is threatened by sea lice. The outbreak is in its early stages, but the company began to test a new device, dubbed Stingray, to keep sea lice at bay. It uses AI programming to identify aberrations in color and texture on the fish’s scales. When it detects lice, the bot zaps them with a surgical diode laser beam, killing the pest but leaving the fish unscathed.

This Robotic Pollinator is like a Huge Bee with Wheels and an Arm
A new technology, Bramble Bee could help feed our kind. The innovation determines if a flower is ready for pollination then uses a small 3D-printed brush to gently stroke the blossom. This transfers pollen from the plant’s anthers to its pistils, where pollination commences. The robot will even remember what flowers it already hit, so it can make multiple runs as the plants mature in the greenhouse.

The Newest Thing in Beer: Ancient Yeast
There is a new movement brewing in the beer world: trying to find the weirdest, funkiest yeast. Small genetic differences within species account for the many strains of yeast, which along with hops and other ingredients, determine the aroma and flavor of beer. Global drinks companies are hoping new and exclusive brews with a story behind them will entice consumers who are increasingly migrating to wine and spirits.

Blockchain Technology is being Used in the Early Disruption of Kenya’s Agribusiness
IBM has been working with the Kenya-based food logistics startup Twiga Foods to facilitate micro-lending options for food vendors in emerging markets. After analyzing purchase records recorded on mobile devices, IBM researchers determine creditworthiness, after which they use blockchain technology to administer the entire lending experience from application to receiving offers to accepting terms of repayment.

Will AI be a Bane or Boon for Global Development?
Global predictions for AI in agriculture suggest it will be worth more than $2.6 billion by 2025. Increased investments are propelling the development and commercial deployment of technologies, from yield prediction algorithms to drone irrigation and discovery of next-generation proteins in biotechnology.

Following a Tuna from Fiji to Brooklyn – on the Blockchain
Each stop on a fish's journey, from the landing dock in Fiji to the processing facility to the truck that drove it to Brooklyn, can be cataloged on the blockchain. Supply chains appear to be a legitimate use case for the technology, tracking materials as they move around the globe. There are promising signs, but also serious hurdles to deploying this tech broadly in logistics. It likely will be years, if not decades, before that happens.