Have you ever wondered why fruits and vegetables rot soon after harvest? Once taken from their plants, their immune system cannot provide any further protection. Preservation techniques like drying and salting makes food unattractive for bacteria, but change taste and texture. The modern solution has been refrigeration.

Bruce Roser from the UK realized that some plants designed a special technique to preserve themselves over long periods of time. They dry out and turn dormant, free from any bacterial attacks. Once the conditions for life are ideal again they simply reconstitute themselves. Roser found out that they produce a sugar which replaces water. The use of this sugar is the key of his innovation and only requires water as a solvent.

The shelf-life of medication, especially vaccines and blood is extremely important. Only 50 percent of the vaccines reach their destiny because the cold chain fails somewhere. This new sugar technique can bring the same blood and vaccines to patients at a fraction of the cost, and it can revolutionize the frozen food department at the supermarket by eliminating it.

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