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A better measure of research from the global south

Funders Jean Lebel and Robert McLean describe a new tool for judging the value and validity of science that attempts to improve lives.
  1. Jean Lebel

    1. Jean Lebel is president of the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada.

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  2. Robert McLean

    1. Robert McLean is senior programme specialist at the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada.

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Illustration by David Parkins

In India, the world’s leading producer of mangoes, up to 40% of the harvested fruit is destroyed in transit before delivery. This costs up to US$1 billion in lost income each year, affecting the lives and livelihoods of millions of farmers, traders and consumers. So researchers from India, Sri Lanka and Canada developed a suite of nanomaterials that can be sprayed onto fruit on the tree, in packaging or in transit, to extend its life. They trapped hydrophobic hexanal molecules (derived from plant waste) in a hydrophilic membrane so that they could be suspended in liquid for application to the fragile fruit.

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Nature 559, 23-26 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-05581-4

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