Machine learning can help identify suitable distribution and storage conditions for delicate extra virgin olive oil

Nowadays, in the United States, and especially in California, different extra virgin olive oils are being produced. Nevertheless, many European countries have been and still are importing their extra virgin olive oils, mainly from Spain and Italy. Many recent studies performed in the US regarding the quality of these imported oils have revealed many low-quality products, even from prestigious brands, causing much discomfort in this sector overseas. Although initial blames were put on the producers, there is more and more evidence that, in fact, the distribution chain and storage plays a major role in the degradation of these delicate foods. Harsh conditions have been reported during transportation in ships, having olive oil containers sitting in the sun from days to even months at very high temperatures.

Scintillon Institute Receives $5,000 Donation from Vertex Pharmaceuticals

La Jolla, California

August 14, 2018 

Scintillon Institute for Biomedical and Bioenergy Research is honored to announce that it has received a $5,000 donation from Vertex Pharmaceuticals in support of the Summer Internship Program (SURE Program).  This donation marks the first corporate partnership for Scintillon, a rapidly growing nonprofit research institute, and will help expand this free program for high school students to create vital resume-building opportunities through faculty mentorship and experience working in professional research labs.

In the current age of information, where digitization is becoming indispensable (turning signals into digital format; i.e. “0s” and “1s”), photographs can be used as a great source of data. They can be transformed into mathematical databases, where each color of a single pixel can be seen as a set of three numbers representing the intensity of red, green, and blue channels. Therefore, the higher the number of pixels in a photo, which is directly related to its resolution, the greater the amount of information that can be used for different applications.

In this specific scenario, several photographs of olives, of different quality grades, were gathered, and their pixel maps were extracted through image processing. Afterwards, this information was used to train intelligent mathematical models to distinguish the olives in terms of quality grade. This intelligent modeling is also known as machine learning (computational artificial intelligence), which is becoming more and more popular within the scientific community. In many cases, its use is turning out to be a necessity, as it is the only way to process the immense databases that arise from fields such as food technology, biochemistry, or biomedicine.

Scintillon Institute is now accepting applications for this summer's SURE program.  

The Summer Internship Program (SURE Program) aims to introduce top high school applicants to basic scientific research and prepare them for college. One goal of this immersive research experience is to encourage and prepare the most talented high school students for successful careers in biomedical research. In addition, the SURE Program aims to create a pipeline of future scientists for the highly competitive and successful biomedical research community in San Diego County.

The very best high school students from San Diego County school districts will be selected and invited to participate in the SURE Program. A Scintillon Institute faculty member will be the student’s scientific mentor and will introduce the student to the program’s curriculum and guide the student through to graduation of the program.

The SURE Program has a specially tailored curriculum that aligns the students’ time constraints with the commitment required by basic research.

Applications are due by 5pm on March 30, 2018.  More details can be found under Summer Program.    

Scintillon Institute launches its first crowdfunding campaign!  

Did you know that 2.7 million Americans suffer from glaucoma and over 65% are women?

Scintillon Institute believes the future of science begins today. But we need your help!

We aim to purchase a confocal microscope for our newly established Eye Disease Research Center.  Our goal is $500,000 by December 31.

As a thank you, we are offering exciting perks, such as tickets to our 'Healthy Aging' lecture series and an exclusive lunch with our top scientists. 

To learn more and donate, please visit our campaign page.  

Thank you for sharing our vision!