Fetuses have a sense of taste in the womb — and don’t really appreciate the taste of kale: The bitter leafy green causes fetuses to grimace with a “crying face,” whereas carrots cause a smile, according to a team of researchers from Durham University in England. Unborn infants were twice as likely to make a grossed-out expression after their mothers swallowed powdered kale capsules, and were more likely to make a “laughing face” when the pregnant mothers ate the carrots, the study found. “[It means] the mother has not yet finished her meal [when] the fetus is already aware, or capable of sensing, what the mother has eaten,” Benoist Schaal, one of the study’s authors, told the Guardian. The researchers took ultrasound images of some 70 fetuses between 32 and 36 weeks about 20 minutes after the mothers had eaten the vegetables to determine whether or not the fetuses could detect the flavors. Aromas from the mothers’ diets were detected in the amniotic fluid, the team reported. They found that the ability to detect chemicals related to taste begins at 14 weeks, and detecting odor molecules begins at 24 weeks of gestation. Despite grimacing at their taste, prenatal exposure to the once-trendy leafy green and other vegetables can result in the child becoming a less picky eater, according to the study’s lead author, Beyza Ustun.

The competition for talent keeps heating up: The labor market has been tightening up across the world despite rising inflation and growing fears of recession, with businesses often having to fight to fill up their vacancies, the Financial Times writes. In the UK alone, a recent poll of over 1k managers found that almost 90% of companies were recruiting in July, while some 40% said they planned to increase hiring in the following six months. Globally, numbers of unemployed people are falling to record lows in the eurozone, while countries like Australia are allowing more immigrants into the country to plug the labor shortage. Business owners are having to bump up their pay and make their offers more attractive to lure in more talent, especially as more and more companies shift to a more flexible, hybrid or work-from-home model since the pandemic.

Nowhere is this more evident than industries in need of “deskless workers”: As other industries offer easier and more attractive working conditions, companies in construction, manufacturing and retail are struggling to fill gaps at their companies. Employers are having to increase wages, hire ahead of time to avoid missing out on the limited talent in the market and, ultimately, charge more for their products to cope with the rising costs. “For every one individual there seem to be 10 roles available,” a managing director of a leading construction firm says. “They have a pick of jobs and we’re all trying to get the same people.”