Back to today’s briefing

Story perspectives

MIT's Microneedles Extend Freshness, Fight Global Food Waste

5/22/2025

48 10

Summary

Story summary

Researchers at MIT and SMART have unveiled a groundbreaking technique to prolong the freshness of harvested plants by using biodegradable microneedles to inject melatonin. This innovative approach not only combats food waste, impacting over a billion people worldwide, but also significantly extends the shelf life of pak choy—lasting four days longer at room temperature and ten days longer when chilled.

1 of 1

Story summary

Researchers at MIT and SMART have unveiled a groundbreaking technique to prolong the freshness of harvested plants by using biodegradable microneedles to inject melatonin. This innovative approach not only combats food waste, impacting over a billion people worldwide, but also significantly extends the shelf life of pak choy—lasting four days longer at room temperature and ten days longer when chilled.