Austin Texas — The backyard wellness industry is booming. Cold plunge videos generate hundreds of millions of views on social media every month. Barrel saunas are appearing in suburban backyards that five years ago would have settled for a hot tub. Outdoor showers are no longer a luxury—they are becoming standard in homes where wellness is a lifestyle, not a trend. The demand is real. The supply chain for building a complete backyard spa? A nightmare. A typical homeowner who wants a sauna and cold plunge must research brands for days. Barrel sauna or cabin sauna? Cedar or hemlock? Electric...

LOS ANGELES — The global insect protein industry is expanding rapidly as food producers, aquaculture companies, and pet food manufacturers explore alternative protein sources. Crickets are increasingly processed into protein flour for consumer products, black soldier fly larvae are being used to replace fishmeal in aquaculture feed, and mealworms have become a key ingredient in a growing category of premium pet foods. Industry forecasts project the insect protein market could reach $8 billion by 2030. While production capacity is scaling to meet demand, much of the operational infrastructure behind insect farms remains relatively manual. Many facilities still rely on spreadsheets,...

LOS ANGELES — Countertop fabrication shops across the United States often rely on manual processes when planning slab layouts, estimating jobs, and transferring files between digital systems. In many workshops, fabricators still arrange templates by hand on natural stone slabs to determine where cuts should be made, while remnants from previous jobs accumulate in storage areas due to inefficient material usage. SlabWise, available at https://slabwise.com, is an AI-powered countertop fabrication platform designed to improve slab nesting, quoting workflows, and file compatibility between templating and CNC programming systems. Fabrication shops using the platform report significant reductions in material waste and improvements...

LOS ANGELES — Varroa destructor is a parasitic mite about the size of a pinhead, but its impact on global beekeeping has been enormous. The mite attaches to honey bees, feeds on their fat bodies, weakens their immune systems, and transmits multiple viruses capable of collapsing entire colonies. Since its arrival in the United States in 1987, Varroa has been responsible for more managed honey bee colony losses than pesticides, habitat loss, and climate change combined. For beekeepers, managing Varroa infestations has become one of the most critical aspects of modern hive management. Yet many operations still rely on handwritten...