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Chemical Conversations - Scientists Decode Nature’s Vibrant Information Landscape

News

April 15, 2015

Every Friday morning since 2004, the CALS Plant-Insect Group has met via conference call to share ideas and talk research. They’re a diverse bunch: entomologists, neurobiologists, ecologists, chemists and evolutionary biologists on the Ithaca...

Microbiology
Neurobiology and Behavior
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

A two-photo collage. The photo on the left is of a purple flower. The photo on the right is of a moth sitting on top of a yellow flower.

Big Data is a Big Deal

News

April 15, 2015

Your route to work today. A re-tweet during a presidential debate. The dishwasher running at 7 p.m. Thanks to the convergence of sensors, Global Positioning System (GPS), digital communications, and wireless connectivity, they are all now...

Lab of Ornithology
Computational Biology
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
Department of Communication
Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management

A graphic of the earth with 0's and 1's written over it

Dean's Message

News

April 15, 2015

As I look ahead to my second term as dean of Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, I also find myself reflecting upon the college’s recent accomplishments. In June 2014, we launched the School of Integrative Plant...

The next frontier of evolutionary science may be your living room

News

April 8, 2015

A cross-disciplinary group of scientists is applying the tools of ecology and evolutionary biology to a new research frontier: indoor spaces. Indeed, indoor spaces could be the fastest growing biome, a word used to describe the different realms...

Cornell in 2065: ‘What I see happening’

News

April 8, 2015

In its special Spring 2015 issue, Ezra Magazine asked faculty members to imagine the world in 2065, when Cornell celebrates its bicentennial. Among those featured in that cover story are: Wendy Wolford, the Robert A. and Ruth E. Polson Professor...

Fruit fly experiment reveals diet, immunity and gene links

News

April 8, 2015

A scientific finding in fruit flies on the interplay of genes, nutrition and immunity provides insights that may one day inform personalized medicine. The study, published in the March 12 issue of the journal PLOS Genetics, demonstrates that...

On the road: Sorrells explores genomics & good food in Thailand

News

April 6, 2015

Editor’s Note: As previewed in this earlier CALS Notes post , Mark Sorrells – professor of Plant Breeding and Genetics in the School of Integrative Plant Science – spent his spring break with postdoctoral associate Julio Isidro Sánchez in...

Student team explores impact of road salt on streams and soils

News

April 6, 2015

The students found salt residue lasts all year long in the soils contained in storm-water retention basins and that the high salinity levels appear to be changing the composition of soil microbes. “Salinity levels in streams across the...

CALS and global dairy leader Yili sign MOU

News

April 3, 2015

This afternoon in Ithaca, Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean Kathryn Boor and Mr. Jiwu Yang, General Manager of the Yili Innovation Center of Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, signed a memorandum of...

A woman and a man each sign documents as five men stand behind them in a row

Cornell’s Gravani & USDA put food safety in the palm of your hand

News

April 3, 2015

For those who have wondered if Tuesday’s leftovers are still good, whether a chicken breast has been cooked to the correct temperature or how to keep food safe during a power outage, now there’s an app for that. The FoodKeeper app, developed at...

A hand holds an iPhone with the Foodkeeper application open on it in front of an ope fridge with containers of food in it

New faculty focus: Pryor‘s pursuit of small particles promises big insights

News

April 1, 2015

The work of Sara C. Pryor, professor ofearth and atmospheric sciences, focuses on understanding causes of climate variability and change in order to make better projections of future regional and local climates. “Aerosol particles are the...

A woman stands in front of laboratory equipment in a laboratory

Anderson receives NSF CAREER award for renewable energy work

News

April 1, 2015

C. Lindsay Anderson, assistant professor and Norman R. Scott Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellow in the Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, has received the prestigious NSF CAREER Award for her proposal, “Maximizing Renewable...

A woman stands in front of a chalkboard while teaching

CALS alum returns, brings real-world experience to infrastructure program

News

March 31, 2015

College of Agriculture and Life Sciencesalum Scott Zuchorski ’97 first visited Cornell as a child accompanying his father, a ‘69 graduate from CALS who returned to campus for the annual Seeley Conference every summer and the occasional football...

CALS international ties take plant breeding researchers to Thailand

News

March 30, 2015

While many students and faculty take a short breather over spring break, Mark Sorrells – professor of Plant Breeding and Genetics in the School of Integrative Plant Science – is spending his vacation traveling to Thailand and teaching a one-week...

A large building near a lake reflects onto the still lake

System of Rice Intensification earns Olam food security prize

News

March 17, 2015

The System of Rice Intensification (SRI), an agro-ecological method of growing rice that enhances crop yields and is resilient to the adverse effects of climate change, has been awarded the international Olam Prize for Innovation in Food...

CALS Prof Drew Harvell backs call for Congress to support efforts to understand massive Pacific coast starfish die off.

News

March 16, 2015

“This is a start, and you’ve got to start somewhere. … “I’ve certainly done a lot of soul-searching about this: Why should people care about starfish when we’ve got some really huge human-related issues internationally? ISIS is just one small...

A woman stands in a dark room with her hand in the water of a large aquarium in the room

Piezoelectric prize: Beating wings can generate power for scientific research

News

March 12, 2015

A technology that generates electricity from the beating wings of birds, bats or even moths could produce enough power to run a device that collects data – such as location, migration habits or vital physiological statistics – used by biologists...

A pigeon wearing a device on its back that is collecting vibration energy

Climate change to dramatically alter NY’s biggest interior lake by 2099

News

March 11, 2015

By the end of this century, the temperature of Oneida Lake – New York state’s largest interior lake – will likely be higher by about 6 degrees Fahrenheit. This would be enough to remove oxygen from its bottom waters, alter its species...

Biological Field Station

A boat sits on a lake filled with blue-green algae

Cornell, USDA team finds new method to find bad mutations in maize crops

News

March 11, 2015

Cornell researchers have developed a way to predict bad mutations in the maize genome, addressing a major challenge for breeders trying to grow better crops and feed rising populations. The researchers found regions of the genome that were...

New faculty focus: Goula says collaboration key to landscape design

News

March 10, 2015

By Celina Scott-Buechler Landscape architecture, says Maria Goula, is where the natural and social sciences intersect. Goula, a new associate professor at CALS, recently moved here from her post as vice dean of Landscape Architecture Studies at...

A woman gives a presentation while standing at a podium