Larger companies receive lower online ratings than smaller businesses—not because of product quality, but because consumers feel less empathy toward them.

Travelers who use chatbots powered by artificial intelligence on hotel booking platforms often feel uneasy. That discomfort can cause them to disengage or delay booking decisions, according to new research.

The study, from the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and published in the International Journal of Hospitality Management, found consumers react most negatively to hospitality chatbots when the technology appears inaccurate or unreliable, deceptive or intrusive.

Fermentation is one of the oldest methods of preserving food. Long before refrigerators existed, people relied on microorganisms to keep food – including meat – safe to eat. PhD research by VUB researcher Ana Sosa Fajardo (VUB Research Group of Industrial Microbiology and Food Biotechnology) now sheds light on why a fermented sausage, for instance, is not only safe to eat but also enjoyable in terms of flavour. According to the researcher, an invisible battle unfolds between bacteria during the fermentation process. Her PhD research shows how certain bacteria compete with one another or cooperate, and adapt in ways that ultimately ensure the flavour, colour and safety of fermented meat.

Curtin University researchers have discovered some agricultural soils can naturally suppress one of Australia’s most damaging broadacre crop diseases.