MSU in the News
Tom Dietz Chairs National Research Council's Panel's Report on Public Participation in Environmental Decisionmaking
ESPP
08/22/2008
When done correctly, public participation improves the quality of federal agencies' decisions about the environment, says a new report from the National Research Council, entitled “Public Participation in Environmental Assessment and Decisionmaking.” Tom Dietz (Environmental Science and Policy Program) chaired the panel that issued the report. The NAS report is available here.
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See New York Times coverage on Dietz
MSU Praised By National Wildlife Federation For Sustainability Efforts
National Wildlife Federation
08/22/2008
Michigan’s colleges and universities rank 9th in a new national report card from the National Wildlife Federation that gauges how well institutions of higher education are recycling, conserving energy and water, protecting wildlife habitat and teaching environmental education….“I think it’s safe to say that MSU is honestly striving to be a truly ‘green’ university,” said Terry Link, director of the Office of Campus Sustainability for Michigan State University. “We are attempting to walk our motto – ‘Advancing Knowledge, Transforming Lives’.
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Peggy Ostrom Researches Hawaiian Petrel Using Lava Tubes
Live Science
08/15/2008
On a chilly, Michigan winter day, a day you dream about Hawaii, I was sitting in the office of Michigan State University zoology professor Peggy Ostrom. We were discussing ocean sequestration of carbon for a magazine article I was writing. After the interview, Ostrom mentioned her upcoming work on a project involving a Hawaiian endangered seabird, a collaboration with Smithsonian Institution scientists Helen James and Robert Fleischer.
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Paul Thompson Discusses Ethics of Emerging Technologies
New York Times
08/12/2008
Paul Thompson (Philosophy and Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies) discussed the ethics of emerging technologies in the New York Times. An excerpt: “Last year, a private company proposed fertilizing parts of the ocean with iron, in hopes of encouraging carbon-absorbing blooms of plankton. Meanwhile, researchers elsewhere are talking about injecting chemicals into the atmosphere, launching sun-reflecting mirrors into stationary orbit above the earth or taking other steps to reset the thermostat of a warming planet. ... Paul Thompson, a philosopher at Michigan State and former secretary of the International Society for Environmental Ethics, says many scientists were trained to limit themselves to questions answerable in the real world, in the belief that “scientists and engineers should not be involved in these kinds of ethical questions.”
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Greenpeace Cites MSU Agricultural Research
Greenpeace
08/12/2008
A Greenpeace article on Food Security and Global Change includes a reference to research done at Kellogg Biological Station’s Long-Term Ecological Research site by Rich Smith (Plant Biology), Kay Gross (Plant Biology), and Phil Robertson (Crop and Soil Sciences). The research shows how crop rotation and incorporation of diversity can influence crop yields.
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Scientists Brief Congress on the Sustainability of Cellulosic Biofuels
Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station Newsletter
08/01/2008
Phil Robertson (Crop and Soil Sciences) and Doug Landis (Entomology) took part in an Ecological Society of America-hosted House and Senate briefing on the sustainability of cellulosic biofuels. They discussed the ecological and economic considerations surrounding the use of cellulosic biomass -- the leaves, stems and other fibrous parts of a plant -- to produce biofuels…Landis spoke about the value, both environmental and monetary, of maintaining high levels of biodiversity in agricultural systems….Robertson spoke about the economic, environmental and social elements of biofuel sustainability.
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Strategic Partnership Grant for Proposal on Electronic Properties and Applications of Microbial Nanowires
MSU Research News
Summer 2008
The MSU Foundation has provided support for a group led by Gemma Reguera (Microbiology and Molecular Genetics). Building on their leadership in characterizing microbial nanowires, the research team will analyze the conduction properties of microbially produced protein nanowires and explore innovative applications for conductive proteins. Potential applications include design of conductive peptides and protein nanowires and insights to bimolecular self-assembly and electron transfer as well as development of more efficient microbial fuel cells and bioremediation processes for toxic materials.
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‘Small’ research at MSU leads to advances in energy, electronics
University Relations
07/31/2008
Lawrence Drzal (Chemical Engineering and Materials Science) and his students have developed a nanomaterial that makes plastic stiffer, lighter and stronger and could result in more fuel-efficient airplanes and cars as well as more durable medical and sports equipment.
The material – xGnP Exfoliated Graphite NanoPlatelets – will be instrumental in the development of new and expanded applications in the aerospace, automotive and packaging industries, said Drzal. The graphene nanoparticles are being manufactured by a new startup company, XG Sciences Inc., located in mid-Michigan and a spinoff from intellectual property owned by MSU. XG Sciences has an exclusive license to manufacture this material.
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Rachael Shwom Blogs on Climate Change & Values
Great Lakes Town Hall
07/28/2008
Ph.D. candidate Rachael Shwom (Sociology and ESPP) was guest commentator on the Great Lakes Town Hall during the week of July 28. Shwom wrote about connections between the Great Lakes, global warming, and the public's perspective. The Great Lakes Town Hall is sponsored by the Biodiversity Project, in Chicago. Read her postings (or contact Brenda Wanous at project@biodiverse.org).
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Combing for Clues
The State News
07/27/2008
The month of August not only marks the beginning for a new school year at Michigan State University, but also the beginning of honey harvesting season for beekeepers across the state. But as students return to East Lansing they may be the only ones creating a buzz, as Michigan’s honeybee population is continually disappearing.
For more than 20 years, Zachary Huang, an associate professor of entomology at MSU, has been studying bees, but it wasn’t until two years ago that an unusual disappearance of honeybees sent panic through beekeeping communities around the nation. Since 2006, about 25 percent of the honeybee population has been lost in our country and we don’t know why, Huang says. Beekeepers are opening up their hives and the bees are simply just not there.
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Jack Liu Identifies Disciplinary Integration as Key to China’s Future
Nature
07/24/2008
In a forum in Nature, Jack Liu (Fisheries and Wildlife) discussed disciplinary integration as a tool to make China a research and innovation powerhouse.
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Oxobiodegradable Bag Wears Down Anywhere
Gulf News (United Arab Emirates)
07/24/2008
Oxobiodegradable bags are fully biodegradable and will provide a better solution to paper or compostable bags made of natural fibers such as jute, plastic manufacturers in the UAE. Ramani Narayan, professor of material science and engineering at Michigan State University, says oxobiodegradable bags should be consumed within the time specified by related standards as the waste will end up in landfills.
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Brad Rowe Receives Research Award of Excellence for Green Roof Research
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities
07/15/2008
Brad Rowe (Horticulture) received the award from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities at the 6th International Green Roof Conference in May 2008. The award goes to “an individual whose research has received widespread peer recognition, has performed outstanding service to the development of the green roof industry, and has enhanced the development of green roofs in North America and worldwide.”
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Kay Gross receives Ecological Society of America's Distinguished Service Citation
MSU College of Natural Science News
07/15/2008
Kay Gross (Kellogg Biological Station and Plant Biology) received the Ecological Society of America's ( ESA ) Distinguished Service Citation. ESA announced: “She is renowned in the ecological community for both her scientific contributions to plant ecology and her contributions to developing the institutional infrastructure of the field…. Gross has been involved in the development of a long-term archive of ecological data that is freely accessible to ecologists and was instrumental in developing a "think tank" for ecology, which resulted in the establishment of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis.”
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Remote weather stations give farmers timely advice
The Associated Press, New York Times
07/11/2008
For apple growers like Abby Jacobson, making or losing money depends as much on what they don't do as what they do. So when data from Michigan State University 's high-tech weather monitoring network helped her decide to skip four costly chemical sprayings this spring, she considered it an unqualified success.
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Scientists across the nation want to emulate MSU's long-term research success
ESPP
07/10/2008
The United States should use an MSU program as a model for long-term agricultural research and set up a network of similar sites across the country, according to a paper in the journal BioScience. A paper in the July/August issue of the journal BioScience calls for the United States to use the internationally known program as a model for agricultural research and set up a network of LTER-like sites across the country. Typically, agricultural research projects are funded for two to three years.
MSU Faculty Study E. coli Transport Through Soil
ESPP
07/08/2008
Three MSU faculty have received funding from the US Department of Agriculture (CSREES) to characterize and model pore geometries within soils which control the flow, distribution, and retention of E. coli from agricultural ecosystems subjected to contrasting long term management. Sash Kravchenko (Crop and Soil Sciences), Joan Rose (Center for Water Sciences), and Alvin Smucker (Crop and Soil Sciences) will use the synchrotron at Argonne National Laboratories to process their images. This project will increase understanding of the pore routes of E. coli transport originating from animal manures applied to surface soils.
China's programs aim to restore environment and help people
Science Daily, PhysOrg.com, Huliq.com, Space News
07/07/2008
Two of the world's largest environmental programs in China are generally successful, although key reforms could transform them into models for the rest of the world, according to new research. Jianguo "Jack" Liu, Michigan State University Distinguished Professor , and several colleagues reviewed China 's Natural Forest Conservation and Grain to Green programs that together represent a government investment of more than 500 billion yuan ($72 billion-plus).
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Hyena has hidden 'language' of groans
NewScientist
07/07/2008
Hyenas are famous for their loud laughs, but hyena groans may be an equally important facet of their vocal repertoire. Frederic Theunissen's team at the University of California in Berkeley , US , is using a captive hyena colony in Berkeley Hills to study those groans, which are too subtle to record in the wild. ... Kay Holekamp, zoologist at Michigan State University, isn't surprised that Theunissen's work has revealed variation in hyena groans. "Spotted hyenas live in very complex societies, and they have a long, slow development during which cubs must form many different social relationships," she says. "Groans may very well play a role in that socialization process."
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Mid-Michigan a valley of giant alternative energy potential
Business Review, Kalamazoo Gazette
07/07/2008
Alternative energy could power an economic renaissance in a state that desperately needs jobs, and mid-Michigan could play a key role in that future. "We have a significant opportunity to create new jobs throughout the alternative-energy production chain," says Steve Pueppke, director of the Office of Biobased Technologies at Michigan State University.
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The Wilderness Debate Rages On
The University of Georgia Press
07/02/2008
Ten years ago, The Great New Wilderness Debate began a crossdisciplinary conversation about the varied constructions of "wilderness" and the controversies that surrounded them. The Wilderness Debate Rages On will reinvigorate that conversation and usher in a second decade of debate. ESPP faculty member, Michael P. Nelson, co-edited The Wilderness Debate Rages On.
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Research on Phosphorus Levels in Lakes Guides State Policy
The Scoop
July 2008
Pat Soranno (Fisheries and Wildlife) and a team of MSU researchers are collaborating with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to develop a phosphorus standard for Michigan lakes. “Every lake is different,” says Soranno. “What is considered healthy for one body of water is not necessarily healthy for another. That's why it's important to develop a standard that takes water chemistry and biology differences into account.” By looking at patterns among hundreds of water bodies, Soranno and her team developed an approach that predicts healthy nutrient levels on the basis of lake characteristics and the surrounding land.
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Alternative energy: The movie
Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
06/30/2008
Over the years, screenwriters have come up with all sorts of creative ideas for alternative sources of energy. With gas prices where they are, it's definitely time to take a closer look. ... "Many waste streams, including swine manure, can be better treated to protect our environment, and at the same time to provide some form of energy, including methane gas or even crude oil," says Yuanhui Zhang, professor of environmental engineering at the University of Illinois. One hurdle, however, is manure supply. "This is technically feasible, and could make a small contribution to vehicle fuels," says Bruce Dale, engineering professor at Michigan State University. "There just isn't enough of it."
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Students' Renewable Energy Argument Wins Air and Waste Management Association Award
ESPP
06/27/2008
A team of five MSU students won second place in a student environmental challenge at the Air and Waste Management Association's 101 st Annual Conference in Portland , Oregon . Eight student teams from Canada and the United States participated in the challenge, which asked students to either reject or accept a proposal for a new 1,000 MW Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) coal facility meant to serve the Pacific Northwest region. The MSU team included Brandon Knight, Michael Collins (Journalism), Lauren Olson (CARRS), Rebecca Hullman (ESPP and Environmental Engineering), and Tan Zhao (Environmental Engineering). The team decided to abstain from the use of fossil fuels, and instead proposed a renewable portfolio consisting of wind, biomass, geothermal, compressed air storage, wave, solar, and energy efficiency/conservation. MSU students will have another chance to compete in a similar challenge when the conference moves to Detroit in June 2009.
EPA honors MSU professors with Green Chemistry Award
MSU Today
06/27/2008
Two MSU professors have received national honors for their work that has provided significant innovations in pollution prevention in the United States. Chemistry professors Robert Maleczka and Milton Smith have earned the 2008 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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Garlic mustard pulled with a vengeance
Detroit Free Press
06/27/2008
For several weeks more than 1,000 people around the state took part in Michigan 's first Garlic Mustard Challenge, a competition aimed at pulling up 100,000 pounds of the aggressive invader by June 15. What do all these people have against garlic mustard? The plants can produce up to 17,000 seeds per square yard. The mustard takes over large areas, dominating native wildflowers and other plants. Through its roots, it secretes chemicals harmful to fungi that are beneficial to other plants, including trees. ... "It's a very serious invader," one of the top 10 worst alien plants in Michigan, says Doug Landis, a Michigan State University professor researching invasive species. Landis is studying possible biological controls for garlic mustard that might someday help rein in the plant.
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David MacFarlane Describes Urban Tree Utilization on Morning Edition
NPR
06/26/2008
WKAR’s Morning Edition featured David MacFarlane (Forestry) suggesting more creative use of storm-damaged trees. The story focused mainly on how Lansing is using storm-damaged trees (most are burned for power generation), but also highlights that, in general, substantial amounts of wood are discarded or put to lower value uses; with better infrastructure, they could be better utilized.
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Helpful health tips for swimming in pools
Spencer Daily Reporter (Iowa)
06/26/2008
No matter where you are swimming -- in your backyard or community pool -- you should know the difference between a healthy pool and a risky one. Proper pool treatment and healthy behavior are keys to a safe swim protecting water quality and swimmer health. ... "A well-maintained, properly chlorinated swimming pool is essential to preventing illnesses from waterborne bacteria and viruses," says Joan Rose, Water Quality Council member and noted Michigan State University microbiologist. "These pathogens can cause swimmers to experience diarrhea, respiratory illness, ear or nose and skin infections."
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Jennifer Sowa
Spartan Podcast
06/25/2008
Jennifer Sowa is the team leader for the environmental stewardship communications team at Michigan State University . MSU has established an expansive environmental stewardship effort called Be Spartan Green. Sowa talks about the five things you can do to be Spartan Green.
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Flooding muddies push for ethanol
Detroit News
06/23/2008
Massive flooding in the Midwest has ruined millions of acres of crops, spurring record corn prices and raising serious questions about whether the United States can meet new requirements for using corn-based biofuels in the nation's cars and trucks. ... Bruce Dale of Michigan State University, an expert on ethanol, note that energy prices, especially oil, are driving much of the increase in food prices. "We've had cheap food and cheap energy for a long time," Dale says. He noted diesel fuel has jumped to $4.70 a gallon, up $1.88 in the last year, which also has boosted food prices.
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Nobel Prize shines on MSU faculty
ESPP
06/19/2008
MSU faculty contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, which recently won the Nobel Prize for Peace. David Campbell (Geography), Kim Hall (Fisheries and Wildlife and Forestry), and Julie Winkler (Geography) were reviewers for the 2007 report's Working Group II, on "Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability." Campbell and Hall were reviewers for the 2001 report's Working Group II, also, and David Skole (Forestry) reviewed for the 2001 report's Working Group I, on "The Scientific Basis." Skole was also a lead author for the first assessment of Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry and received a special Nobel Diploma given to those who contributed to the IPCC in substantial ways.
Knight Center for Environmental Journalism produces "Meltdown" program on climate change, featuring MSU faculty
ESPP
06/19/2008
The Knight Center's Lou D'Aria and students from journalism, broadcasting, theater, zoology, music, and fisheries and wildlife produced a program on climate change in the Arctic. The program features MSU faculty members Nathaniel Ostrom (Zoology), David Skole (Forestry) and Merrit Turetsky (Plant Biology).
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ESPP student wins NASA fellowship
ESPP
06/16/2008
NASA has granted a two-year Earth Systems Science Fellowship (ESSF) to Geography and ESPP student Carolina Santos, awarding her $30,000 per year to pursue her research on Complex Land Use & Cover Trajectories in the Northern Choco Bioregion of Columbia . The fellowship supports training of interdisciplinary scientists to support the study of the Earth as a system, with a particular emphasis on using observations and measurements from NASA's Earth orbiting satellites. Congratulations Carolina!
Letting 1,000 forests bloom
Science Magazine
06/13/2008
China 's Hengduan Mountain Region lies more than 1,500 kilometers southwest of Beijing . The Hengduans are like islands, isolated, with a range of ecological niches, spurring plants to speciate like mad. They house 3,500 endemic species of plants, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals, including giant pandas. That's made this part of China a prime target of plant collectors and botanists since the late 19th century. ... China started to replant and preserve forest lands nationwide. These moves were "a major milestone," says Jianguo "Jack" Liu, ecologist, of Michigan State University.
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MSU faculty present to legislators on climate change
ESPP
06/10/2008
As Jeffrey Andresen, of MSU's Department of Geography, and Nathaniel Ostrom , of MSU's Department of Zoology, testified on June 10 at a hearing on climate change organized by Representative Rebekah Warren, Chair of the House Great Lakes and Environment Committee, and Steve Chester, Director of the DEQ. Dr. Andresen specializes in agricultural meteorology & applied climatology, while Dr. Ostrom studies how carbon dioxide and nitrogen function within the climate and carbon cycles. David Skole , of MSU's Department of Forestry, also spoke to legislators recently. Dr. Skole studies global carbon cycles and the role of forests in climate change.
Ash borer
Weather Channel
06/09/2008
Deb McCullough, forest entomologist at Michigan State University, discusses the effects the emerald ash borer is having on the state's trees.
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Bacteria make major evolutionary shift in the lab
New Scientist (U.K.)
06/09/2008
A major evolutionary innovation has unfurled right in front of researchers' eyes. It's the first time evolution has been caught in the act of making such a rare and complex new trait. ... Twenty years ago, Richard Lenski, evolutionary biologist at Michigan State University , took a single Escherichia coli bacterium and used its descendants to found 12 laboratory populations. "It's the most profound change we have seen during the experiment. This was clearly something quite different for them, and it's outside what was normally considered the bounds of E. coli as a species, which makes it especially interesting," says Lenski.
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Knight Center for Environmental Journalism receives Michigan Emmy
NATAS Michigan
06/07/2008
Louis A. D'Aria, executive producer of the MSU Knight Center for Environmental Journalism's television program "Environment," was awarded a 2008 Emmy award by the Michigan Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences on Saturday, June 7 in the category of best lighting for "Dying to be Heard." The Michigan Emmy awards were announced last night at ceremonies held at the Gem Theatre in Detroit .
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Paper for pricey plastic?
Reuters, Forbes, New York Times
06/04/2008
You know that flimsy plastic bag the convenience store clerk put your toothpaste in? The price of those bags, though still cheaper than paper ones, is rising fast because of higher natural gas and oil prices. And the same goes for plastic water bottles, takeout containers, the case around your computer, and car parts. ... Susan Selke, acting director of Michigan State University's School of Packaging, says she expected more changes in packaging to use less plastic, and also more plastic made from sugar cane and other renewable resources, rather than natural gas and oil.
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High fuel prices to make cellulosic biofuels increasingly competitive with gas
Mongabay.com
06/02/2008
A new institute in the San Francisco Bay Area is seeking to make cellulosic biofuel an economically viable alternative to corn ethanol and gasoline within the next five years. ... "The first thing we have to do is make sure that the long-term fertility of the soil is preserved," says Bruce Dale, chemical engineer at Michigan State University who studies cellulosic ethanol production. "One of the reasons I like perennial grasses as a source of cellulosic ethanol is that's what they do, just kind of by nature, because they have these deep roots and tend to capture nutrients and build up soil carbon over time."
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Replaying evolution
Science News, The Scientists
06/02/2008
If Stephen Jay Gould were alive today, he would be smiling. Maybe even gloating. New research suggests that the famous evolutionary biologist was right when he argued that, if the evolution of life were "wound back" and played again from the start, it could have turned out very differently. ... Scientists obviously can't turn back the hands of time, but Richard Lenski and his colleagues at Michigan State University did the next best thing. Lenski's team watched 12 colonies of identical E. coli bacteria evolve under carefully controlled lab conditions for 20 years, which equates to more than 40,000 generations of bacteria. After every 500 generations, the researchers froze samples of bacteria. Those bacteria could later be thawed out to "replay" the evolutionary clock from that point in time.
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MSU launches campaign to cut power use by up to 17 percent
Lansing State Journal
06/02/2008
Michigan State University's leaders can't do much about the skyrocketing prices of coal and natural gas. But they think they can convince students, faculty and staff to turn off a few lights and power down their computers at the end of the day, particularly if it means smaller tuition bills and more money for university programs. "The challenge we have on campus is people don't get the electrical bill," says Kathy Lindahl, assistant vice president for finance and operations.
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MSU researchers receive University Research Corridor (URC) funds for energy projects
MSU College of Engineering
06/02/2008
The University Research Corridor (URC), an alliance of Michigan 's three research universities, announced May 29 that its first seed fund grants will go to two energy projects led by College of Engineering researchers. The seed investments will help launch two collaborations for efficient development of cheaper forms of electricity and fuel, one involving all three universities and the other involving MSU and U-M.
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MAES scientist selected as 2008 Leopold Leadership Fellow
Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station
06/01/2008
MAES scientist Scott Swinton, professor in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, is one of 19 environmental researchers from across North America selected as Leopold leadership fellows for 2008. Each of the fellows will participate in two weeklong intensive training seminars in June and September to learn to become stronger communicators with audiences outside of academia, including journalists and policymakers.
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MSU water fellows follow outline water quality protection needs to joint House, Senate Committee
Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station
06/01/2008
MAES scientist Scott Swinton, professor in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, is one of 19 environmental researchers from across North America selected as Leopold leadership fellows for 2008. Each of the fellows will participate in two weeklong intensive training seminars in June and September to learn to become stronger communicators with audiences outside of academia, including journalists and policymakers.
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Graphene-Polymer Composite: New composites could lead to better food packaging, and to lighter car and airplane parts
Technology Review
05/27/2008
By spreading a small amount of graphene, a single-layer flat sheet of carbon atoms, throughout polymers, researchers have made tough, lightweight materials. The composites conduct electricity and can withstand much higher temperatures than the polymers alone....Graphene might also raise fewer toxicity concerns than carbon nanotubes... The worry is that carbon nanotubes could mimic asbestos fibers, which are thin enough to penetrate into the lungs and cause cancer. Graphene, on the other hand, "is a nanometer only in thickness," says Lawrence Drzal, director of the Composite Materials and Structures Center at Michigan State University.
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Microbes in the Energy Grid
Science Magazine
05/23/2008
The current surge in food and fuel prices has sounded an alarm showing why providing a sustainable global energy supply and minimizing climate change are arguably two of the greatest challenges facing 21st-century society. With adequate research and proper implementation, the diverse and often unseen inhabitants of the microbial world -- bacteria, yeasts, fungi and archaea -- can help address these challenges. ... James Tiedje is a professor of microbiology and crop and soil sciences and director of the Center for Microbial Ecology at Michigan State University.
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Great Lakes study highlights problems with water supply
WLNS-TV
05/15/2008
Concern over the Great Lakes is the focus of a new local study. The study compiled by a group at Michigan State University suggests a better job needs to be done to oversee water quality and protect public health. Joan Rose, MSU water researcher , says "this report was more focused on understanding those pathogens, and more importantly, looking at new technology and techniques we could bring to the state of Michigan to understand those problems and protect our waters."
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Michigan hopes to draw out-of-state tourists
Associated Press, USA Today
05/12/2008
The state is launching its 2008 Pure Michigan advertising campaign in the state on Monday, a week after it launched the campaign regionally in cities stretching from Milwaukee to Cincinnati. Michigan hopes the award-winning campaign will draw more tourists from nearby states and Canada to enjoy its beaches, golf courses, fishing spots and bike trails, providing a shot in the arm despite higher gas prices and the weak economy. ... Robert Richardson, assistant professor at Michigan State University , who helped prepare the study, says the news isn't all bad. The declining value of the dollar could draw foreign visitors from Canada and other countries, and higher fuel prices could make an in-state vacation more attractive to Michigan residents.
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Grow food and fuel in proper balance
Detroit Free Press
05/08/2008
The recent hysteria about using agricultural crops for food or fuel creates a grave risk of setting up a false choice between only food or only fuel. There is room for both, but the adjustment process is complex and may be bumpy, as we've seen and read in recent news reports: "Ethanol from agricultural crops is causing dramatic food price increases, shortages and riots in the developing world." ... H. Christopher Peterson is professor of agricultural economics at Michigan State University and director of the MSU Product Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources. Steven Pueppke is director of the Office of Biobased Technologies at Michigan State University and director of the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station.
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David Long is appointed Geological Society of America Fellow
Geological Society of America
05/05/2008
David Long (Geology) has been appointed a Geological Society of America Fellow. His work is described: “David T. Long has conducted state-of-the-art research in environmental and aqueous geochemistry for 30 years. This research has provided over 85 refereed publications. Long is considered an international authority on trace metal dynamics, medical geochemistry, and acid-saline systems.”
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Renewable energy standards gain momentum in Michigan
Business Review (Mich.)
05/01/2008
Support is building among local alternative energy leaders for the approval of a renewable portfolio standard in Michigan which would require electricity companies to ensure that a certain percentage of their energy comes from renewable sources. ... Adesoji Adelaja, director of Michigan State University's Land Policy Institute, says Michigan has a potential to produce 16,500 megawatts in power generated by wind turbines. But right now the state produces less than 1 percent of that.
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Did Seth go to the dark side?
Inc Magazine
May 2008 Issue
For 10 years, since he founded Honest Tea, in 1998, Seth Goldman has been among the heroes of the natural foods movement. Even as his company took off, Goldman held true to his socially responsible ways. Honest Tea still buys its ingredients at fair-trade prices from small organic farms around the globe. But that was before his deal in February to sell 40 percent of his company to Coca-Cola. ... If Coca-Cola does acquire the rest of Honest Tea, it will be able to do whatever it wants with the brand. For starters, it could put pressure on the company to cut costs. In a worst-case scenario, says Phil Howard, professor at Michigan State University and an expert on the organic foods industry, such cost reductions could include substituting cheaper ingredients, such as high-fructose corn syrup, or boosting the number of ingredients that don't meet organic standards.
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Who's laughing now?
Smithsonian Magazine
April 2008 Issue
Long maligned as nasty scavengers, hyenas turn out to be protective parents and accomplished hunters. And new research is revealing that their social status may even be determined in the womb. ... "They'll circle, watch, lie down, then get back up and do it all again until they finally decide to attack," says Kay Holekamp, biologist at Michigan State University, who has been studying spotted hyenas in Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve for 20 years, and adjunct curator of zoology at the MSU Museum, Michigan's first Smithsonian affiliate.
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Protein analysis provides evidence linking T. Rex with birds
eFluxMedia
04/25/2008
The latest research on the mighty predator Tyrannosaurus rex confirms the long-hypothesized theory that there is a relationship between it and modern birds, including chickens and ostriches, scientists say. ... "They have a very tiny bit of data relative to the size of the collagen molecule. What's going to be really convincing is to actually see some more sequences. If [preservation of dinosaur proteins] is a ubiquitous occurrence, then that should be forthcoming," says Peggy Ostrom, biologist at Michigan State University and an expert on fossil proteins.
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Pesticide linked to Oregon geese deaths
Lansing State Journal, Associated Press, Chicago Tribune
04/22/2008
A pesticide typically applied by farmers and golf course managers to kill rodents has been linked to the recent die-off of more than 65 Canada cackling geese at a private lake in Keizer. Five of six samples taken from goose carcasses tested positive for zinc phosphide, according to results from Michigan State University's Center for Integrative Toxicology.
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To bee or not to bee. Residents learn the basics of beekeeping
Lansing State Journal
04/13/2008
Bees have made the news a lot lately because of the mysterious colony collapse disorder, an outbreak of bees "disappearing" out of the hive. Some beekeepers have lost 50 to 90 percent of their colonies because of CCD. Scientists have not yet pinpointed the cause of CCD but continue to study it. "Most scientists think it's a combination of a few factors," says Zachary Huang, biologist with the Michigan State University Department of Entomology who spoke at the beekeeping clinic.
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New weapon found for ash borer arsenal
Lansing State Journal
04/13/2008
Valuable landscape ash trees may now be protected from emerald ash borer (EAB) with a new insecticide called emamectin benzoate. Research at Michigan State University showed that the new product, which will be sold as Tree-age, was "remarkably effective" in controlling EAB, reports Deborah McCullough, MSU forest entomologist and EAB researcher.
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Warming could sap Superior - Great Lakes face algae, disease
Detroit Free Press
04/11/2008
Lower lake levels, less ice cover, more algae, more invasive species and more waterborne diseases linked to sewer overflows after severe storms. Those are among the dire forecasts about the impact of global warming on the Great Lakes from scientists who concluded two days of presentations Thursday at Michigan State University.
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New treatment may save ash trees
Detroit Free Press
04/11/2008
Michigan homeowners trying to protect their landscape ash trees from the emerald ash borer have a new treatment option this spring. An insecticide called emamectin benzoate is expected to be available starting May 14. ... While the 2007 test results are encouraging, Deborah McCullough, Michigan State University forest entomologist, says more research is needed. One question that remains to be answered is whether the pesticide, Tree-age, must be applied each year to be effective.
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Biofuels research roundup
NPR Science Friday
04/11/2008
Fermenting corn can make ethanol, and vegetable oil can become biodiesel -- but what other routes to biofuels are there? In this segment, Ira Flatow talks with several researchers looking at innovative ways to harvest energy from plant materials, including gasoline-like chemicals, ethanol, and hydrogen production. ... Speaking at the American Chemical Society meeting held this week in New Orleans, Miriam Sticklen of Michigan State University described her work on engineering corn stalks to contain an enzyme normally found in the stomach of cattle. Adding the enzyme to corn stalks, the researchers say, could allow easier conversion of the woody waste parts of the corn plant into ethanol.
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Grapes of wrath?
The Day (Conn.)
04/07/2008
Preston residents grappled with defining the town's character last week when considering whether to allow large-acre farm wineries in town. Many townspeople cried, that's not farming, that's not agriculture. ... The U.S. Census definition of "rural" speaks of numbers and population. It doesn't paint a picture. "That doesn't really help a whole lot for planning at the local level," says Dennis Probst, professor of Forestry and Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies at Michigan State University . "What helps for planning at the local level is knowing what factors need to be protected in the zoning ordinances and then having the regulations and incentives for doing that."
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Biofuel farming looks to be an environmental disaster
Discover
04/03/2008
Will switching from fossil fuels to biofuels really reduce greenhouse gases? Two big controversial studies examine carbon emissions from the ecosystems torn down to produce biofuels. ... Bruce Dale , biofuels researcher at Michigan State University, says there is a huge amount of uncertainty when basing predictions on an inherently complex economic model. Additionally, he asserts that the United States should not be responsible for anything but its own environmental profile and that to take into account world land changes is unreasonable.
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Americans lag only Turkey in discrediting evolution
PoliGazette (Netherlands)
04/03/2008
A leading American scientist claims that European science understanding is more evolved than the United States, where only 40 percent of Americans believe in evolution, just half the 80 percent rate of several European nations. Jon Miller, professor in political science at Michigan State University, says religion and politics play major roles in undermining the hard-earned knowledge that led to the widely accepted theory of evolution. "Fundamentalists in this country say everything you need to know is in the Bible, period. Islamists say everything you need to know is in the Koran, period," says Miller.
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Despite Bay City beach muck, DEQ won't list Saginaw Bay as 'impaired'
Bay City Times
04/03/2008
The state Department of Environmental Quality has decided not to list the Saginaw Bay as impaired for algae and nutrients that fuel its growth. But the agency is committing resources to pinpoint the causes of ongoing beach muck problems along the shoreline. ... DNA tests by Michigan State University microbiologist and international expert Joan Rose have found traces of human and cattle waste in bay muck that piles up several feet deep in some areas.
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Farm goes high-tech to report on weather
Detroit News
04/03/2008
A Washington Township farm is the newest host site for a growing statewide automated weather network that reports information such as temperature, wind and soil conditions to a Web site established by Michigan State University. EnviroWeather provides up-to-date weather information to help farmers watch for disease or pest outbreaks and set irrigation and planting schedules.
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'Silver bullet' targets ash borers
Lansing State Journal, Associated Press, Detroit Free Press, Chicago Tribune, Traverse City Record-Eagle, WDIV-TV (Mich.), WZZM-TV (Mich.)
03/29/2008
The emerald ash borer is about to meet its new worst enemy. On Thursday, officials from the Michigan Department of Agriculture gave special approval to the most effective pesticide yet found against the Asian beetle. In preliminary studies conducted by Michigan State University researchers last year in Genesee and Ingham counties, the pesticide killed more than 99 percent of ash borer larvae in treated trees and 100 percent of the adult beetles that nibbled on their leaves. Deborah McCullough, MSU forest entomologist who led the testing last summer, says its effects were remarkable.
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Prevent malaria by netting mosquitoes
MediLexicon News (U.K.)
03/24/2008
Michigan State University scientist Ned Walker is taking on one of the biggest killers in the world: malaria. And he believes he can help win the battle to save lives, especially the lives of children. With a recent $1.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation, Walker will lead a research team studying how insecticide-treated bed nets can disrupt the population dynamics of the parasite that causes the deadly disease, as well as the mosquito that transmits the parasite. Joseph Messina, MSU associate professor of geography, also is participating in the project. The scientists will focus on an area of western Kenya .
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With water, state can boost economy and help the world
Detroit Free Press
03/23/2008
The global population keeps growing, but its sources of water for drinking and sanitation do not. Thousands of people die each day from dirty water, most of them children; one in five people around the world has no access to safe water. ... Water conservation is not rocket science. Steve Safferman, bio-systems and agricultural engineer at Michigan State University, has been working on projects to show how water can be recycled on farms after the dairy barns have been washed down.
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Memo to shoppers: 'Organic' does not equal 'bucolic family farm'
U.S. News and World Report
03/21/2008
Eating organic food may conjure up the notion that one is supporting small, bucolic family farms. Organic farms may have small-business roots, but many have since been gobbled up by mega companies. Informative, dynamic graphics from a Michigan State University professor illustrate the trend.
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Ethanol production may expand Gulf 'dead zone'
Fox News.com
03/18/2008
Increasing production of corn-based ethanol to meet alternative fuel goals will worsen the "dead zone" that plagues the Gulf of Mexico, according to a new study that adds to the growing list of concerns over the fuel. ... Bruce Dale of Michigan State University, has worked on the development of ethanol from cellulose (for example, grasses, wood chips and crop waste ) for the past 30 years says the industry is increasingly moving away from corn to cellulosic ethanol because it is more energy efficient and more environmentally-friendly, but "without corn-based ethanol, we would have had a much more difficult time in moving cellulosic ethanol forward."
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No flies on this crime solver
Las Vegas Review-Journal
03/16/2008
With a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye, Dr. Neal Haskell excitedly described how he once picked maggots from the teeth of a corpse so putrid the smell nearly knocked him out. Haskell should be forgiven for taking glee in such a grisly story. Creepy crawlies and dead bodies are, after all, his job and passion. ... Richard Merritt, professor at Michigan State University's Department of Entomology, has done his share of homicide cases. But he also works with the Hershey's chocolate company identifying insects, often moths, that are found in candy bars, he says.
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Rivers great and small can fight pollution, if given chance
U.S. News and World Report, Reuters ( U.K. ) , Science Daily, Science Centric, India News
03/12/2008
Big rivers typically get the credit for being powerful and mighty, but a sweeping national study released today shows that when it comes to pollution control, even little streams can pack a punch…
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Pet food scare in USA had a precursor
USA Today
03/11/2008
The outbreak of contamination in pet foods that killed hundreds and perhaps thousands of cats and dogs last year in the USA wasn't the first such incident, veterinary pathologists have determined. ... It was a comment by a Korean graduate student amid the 2007 outbreak that led Cathy Brown, a specialist in renal pathology at Georgia 's Athens Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, to suspect this had happened before. Brown eventually tracked down tissue samples from the pets that died in 2004 at the Kyungpook National University in Korea . The sample contained the same type of insoluble crystals found in U.S. pets in the 2007 outbreak, which killed at least 347 cats and dogs, according to preliminary data gathered by Wilson Rumbeiha at Michigan State University .
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Study finds drugs seeping into drinking water
National Public Radio
03/10/2008
An Associated Press investigation has found that trace amounts of drugs are seeping into drinking water supplies. ... Joan Rose, Homer Nowlin Chair in Water Research at Michigan State University, talks with guest host Rob Smith about the possible implications of drug-tainted tap water.
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Bacterium gets wheels turning on ethanol fuel
Washington Post
03/10/2008
A strain of bacteria accidentally found in the Chesapeake Bay more than 20 years ago -- a bug that decomposes everything from algae to newspapers to crab shells -- could help produce cheaper fuel. ... Bruce E. Dale, professor of chemical engineering at Michigan State University, says he wondered how much difference one bacterium could make. "There's never been, to my knowledge, a microorganism that, without help [from scientists] . . . can break down cell walls completely and rapidly," says Dale.
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MSU Land Policy study puts value on 'green infrastructure'
Great Lakes IT Report
03/10/2008
The Land Policy Institute at Michigan State University last week released its final report on green infrastructure in Michigan . ... "The Land Policy Institute is spearheading a body of research to inform the public and policy makers on the role of green infrastructure in the transformation toward success in the New Economy," says Soji Adelaja, LPI director and John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor in Land Policy at MSU.
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Sociable, and smart
New York Times, International Herald Tribune
03/04/2008
For the past two decades, Kay E. Holekamp, professor at Michigan State University, has been chronicling the lives of spotted hyenas on the savannas of southern Kenya. To understand the social intelligence of hyenas, Holekamp and her colleagues track the animals from birth to death.
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Firm blames Rapid as green roof dries out
Grand Rapids Press
02/29/2008
The company whose "green roof" dried up atop The Rapid bus station blames the transit system for the $220,000 mistake, saying it failed to care for it. The transit system allowed the roof's live sedum to dry because it watered with only a hose and sprinkler instead of spending a few thousand dollars on an irrigation system, a company official says. ... Michigan State University associate professor Bradley Rowe, a member of the university's green roof team, says he was unaware of any other green roof failures in Michigan and knew of only a few across the country.
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Do you know your food?
The Bulletin (Pa.)
02/29/2008
If you are what you eat, you're probably getting a little less American every day. The United States ' food supply has become increasingly foreign over the past 15 years. A wide variety of fruits and vegetables are now available year-round, long after their seasons have passed locally ? thanks to these increasing foreign imports. ... "The risks, obviously, are the possibility of picking up some exotic foodborne disease, and getting sick and, in some cases, dying," says Larry Busch, director of the Institute for Food and Agricultural Standards at Michigan State University.
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MSU and News/Talk 760 WJR partner in Web resource for Great Lakes environmental issues
MSU Today
02/22/2008
MSU and News/Talk 760 WJR radio have launched a Web site to provide information and insight into the organizations committed to making the Great Lakes region a leader in environmental practices…
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Study shows even non-science majors benefited from science classes
MSU Today
02/22/2008
To determine what level of quantitative and scientific reasoning entering students bring to MSU and what is the impact of the general education science course on improving students’ reasoning skills, Diane Ebert-May, an MSU plant biology professor, and a team of scientists and statisticians, collaborated to develop learning goals for scientific and quantitative reasoning and an instrument to assess them…
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Dialing into nature
The Engineer Online
02/21/2008
Michigan State University professor Stuart Gage is working with a team of scientists in Australia on methods to automatically measure biological diversity with sound. Gage says the work was based on acoustic monitoring technology developed at Michigan State University, and would be advanced by Queensland University of Technology research to intelligently monitor the sounds of diverse environments. "Measuring sound has the potential to revolutionize the way we monitor ecology and environmental change," says Gage. "It's like using a stethoscope to measure human health - the microphone is a stethoscope for the environment."
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MSU aiding study of deadly fish disease
Lansing State Journal
02/18/2008
Michigan State University is participating in research to tackle a deadly fish disease that is on the attack in the Great Lakes and Michigan's inland waters. ... The main goal of the research is developing new detection tools and a more in-depth understanding of viral hemorrhagic septicemia in the Great Lakes, says Mohammed Faisal, professor of aquatic animal medicine at MSU's Department of Fisheries and Wildlife.
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Michigan farmland values continue to rise
Michigan Farm News
02/15/2008
Michigan farmland values continued their steady upward march in 2007, marking the 20th year in a row that land values have increased. The annual Michigan Land Value survey conducted in the spring of 2007 by the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics at Michigan State University collects information on the value of different types of land across Michigan. The 2007 survey reported land values, when compared with 2006, increasing around 9 percent across the state.
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Caged or free? UC Davis researcher to study egg-laying chickens
Sacramento Bee
02/14/2008
Animal welfare and poultry experts -- including representatives from the University of California, Davis, and Michigan State University -- will be working together to look at the most humane and commercially viable way to raise egg-laying chickens. The research team, which recently received $400,000 from the American Egg Board to fund the initial stage of the research, is being led by animal welfare scientist Joy Mench of UC Davis and experts Janice Swanson, animal welfare researcher, and Paul Thompson, philosophy professor, from MSU.
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Growing Michigan
The Cadillac News
02/14/2008
Is Michigan poised to take advantage of "new economy" opportunities? A collaboration of colleges wants to make sure the economically struggling state is ready. Called Michigan’s Strategic Growth, it’s being spearheaded by Adesoji O. Adelaja, the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor in Land Use Policy at Michigan State University. Locally, an MSU Extension regional land use coordinator is working on the initiative in northwest Michigan.
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Sweden serves as ethanol model
Detroit News
02/11/2008
Sweden has embraced ethanol unlike any other country outside Brazil, and the Nordic nation's example may help the United States in its quest to reduce its dependence on foreign oil. Michigan officials, including Gov. Jennifer Granholm, are looking to Sweden for guidance and see the push for alternative fuels there and the transformation in various industries as something that could be emulated here. ... Bruce Dale, professor of chemical engineering at Michigan State University and an expert on ethanol, says Congress was right to set tough goals and the United States can learn from Sweden.
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Animal rights groups pick up momentum
USA Today
01/27/2008
The growing influence of animal rights activists increasingly is affecting daily life, touching everything from the foods Americans eat to what they study in law school, where they buy their puppies and even whether they should enjoy a horse-drawn carriage ride in New York's Central Park. ... "There's been an explosion of interest" in animal welfare issues, says David Favre, Michigan State University law professor and animal law specialist. "Groups like the Humane Society of the United States and PETA have brought to our social awareness their concerns about animals and all matter of creatures."
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Peek-a-boo panda
U.S. News and World Report
01/14/2008
Vanessa Hull, a 25-year-old Ph.D. student at Michigan State University , walks the snowy, remote mountains of western China's Sichuan Province , which is also the heart of panda country. She's hoping to capture, collar and track up to four wild, giant pandas using advanced global positioning systems. Hull and her team are helping China 's efforts to reintroduce pandas into the wild.
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GM bets on $1-a-gallon ethanol maker
Detroit News
01/13/2008
General Motors Corp. announced today that it's taken a stake in a biofuels research firm that aims to widely market $1-a-gallon renewable fuel as soon as 2011. GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner, announcing the deal today at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit , didn't say how large an investment that automaker has made in the Warrenville, Ill.-based start-up firm, Coskata Inc. ... Bruce Dale , professor of chemical engineering at Michigan State University and expert on ethanol, thinks Coskata's process shows promise. "Especially for wood chips, this could be a very good way to go," says Dale.
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Big predators may need large size to conquer prey, but not true for bacteria
Science News
01/07/2008
Ecologists generally observe a positive relationship between sizes of predators and their prey, mainly because predators need to be large to eat a larger prey. But does this positive relationship hold for sizes of bacteria and their food molecules? Using a mathematical model, scientists at Michigan State University predict the opposite, an inverse relationship between sizes of bacteria and their resource molecules.
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Bee disorder still puzzles scientists
Traverse City Record-Eagle
01/04/2008
There's still plenty of buzz in the agriculture industry about a mysterious malady that's killed swarms of honeybees, but researchers haven't yet pinned down a specific cause. Scores of scientists from across the country continue to search for answers to the honeybee affliction known as colony collapse disorder, or CCD, that has devastated bee colonies across the country over the past two years. Zachary Huang, entomologist from Michigan State University , spoke to local cherry and apple growers about CCD at this week's Orchard and Vineyard Show at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa and said researchers remain baffled over the cause.
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