NEW ORLEANS -- Finding an economical way to make a polyester commonly found in many types of bacteria into a plastic with uses ranging from packaging to biomedical devices is a long-held scientific goal. Such a polymer would be a "green" plastic, in that it would be biodegradable. Geoffrey Coates, a professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., has partially achieved this goal by discovering a highly efficient chemical route for the synthesis of the polymer, known as poly(beta-hydroxybutyrate) or PHB. The thermoplastic polyester is widely found in nature, particularly in some bacteria, where it is formed as intracellular deposits and used as a storage form of carbon and energy. And yet it shares many of the physical and mechanical properties of petroleum-based polypropylene, with the added benefit of being biodegradable. (March 21, 2003)
Michael P. Hoffmann, associate professor of entomology at Cornell University, has been appointed associate director for agriculture and food systems for Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE). Hoffmann will continue as director of the New York State Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program, a position he has held since 1999. Announcing Hoffmann's appointment, Susan A. Henry, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), said Hoffmann, "has done an outstanding job directing the IPM program for the college and the state of New York, and I am delighted that he will be bringing his excellent leadership skills to Cornell Cooperative Extension." (March 21, 2003)
For the 37th year -- on Saturday, April 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. -- students, faculty and staff of the Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine will show off animals of all kinds.
If deer have fetal memories from the womb, the fawn born to Doe 106 later this spring will have quite a story to tell about events the morning of March 8, 2003.
The Southern Tier Law Enforcement Academy at Corning Community College graduated its 17th session of police recruits from the New York State Basic Course for Police Officers, March 10, and Cornell University Police recruits who attended earned several awards.
James Garbarino, professor of human development and co-director of the Family Life Development Center at Cornell University, offers advice to parents on how they can help their children cope with violent images of war and with increased fears of terrorism. Garbarino is an expert on child development and youth violence whose books include No Place to Be a Child: Growing Up in a War Zone (Lexington Books, 1991) and Parents Under Siege: Why You Are the Solution, Not the Problem, in Your Child's Life (The Free Press, 2001). (March 18, 2003)
New York, NY (March 17, 2003) -- Under normal conditions white blood cells, or leukocytes, circulate in the blood stream waiting to be called by damaged tissue to the site of injury or infection. Movement of the leukocytes into the damaged tissue from the blood requires the cells to squeeze between the endothelial cells that line the blood vessel walls. This rapid process is called Trans-Endothelial cell Migration (TEM), or diapedesis, and leads to the normal inflammation of the tissue. However, the white blood cell must migrate through the endothelial cells of the vessel wall without jeopardizing the integrity of the blood vessel. Just how this is accomplished has long been a source of debate among biologists and immunologists.Now, a paper in Nature by scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College, led by Dr. William A. Muller, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, makes great strides towards understanding how the white blood cell moves through the endothelial cells into the damaged tissue. In their process of exploration, the Muller team has made three significant discoveries. First, they have discovered a new internal membrane structure in the endothelial cells, called the endothelial surface-connected compartment, which lies just below the cell surface (the regular outer cell membrane). Second, they have observed that in normal endothelial cells, parts of this membrane shuttle in a wave-like manner between this compartment and the cell surface. Lastly, they have found a new role and function for the adhesion molecule PECAM (Platelet/Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule), which Dr. Muller's laboratory previously discovered. PECAM, which is essential for TEM, is found in abundance within this intracellular membrane and could serve as a "traffic warden" during diapedesis. These findings are crucial because they may provide new targets for anti-inflammatory therapy and lead to more focused treatments.
NEW YORK, NY (March 17, 2003) -- While the three decades since the start of the American "War on Cancer" have witnessed many innovative offensive strategies to treat the disease, a new key battle that may well be the turning point has emerged -- the battle of prevention. As part of this attempt to keep the enemy from even entering the field, the Cancer Prevention Program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has launched a national newsletter and Web site to keep both consumers and health professionals abreast of the latest developments in this new field of cancer prevention.Cancer Prevention, a joint effort of the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical Center -- NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital's two major centers -- aims to cast cancer in a new light -- to change its perception as a life-threatening disease that can only be treated to a disease that can, in many instances, be prevented. The newsletter and Web site (www.nypcancerprevention.org) will provide a forum in which the most recent cancer prevention innovations -- from the laboratory to the clinic to the public at large -- will be presented. They will feature articles by scientists and public health personnel from around the world on the very latest topics of interest in this new field of cancer prevention.
If you're opening a restaurant or renovating an existing one, a new study from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration could help you increase revenues simply by purchasing and arranging the right tables. The study, by Professor Gary Thompson, reveals, surprisingly, that midsize (about 200-seat) restaurants, particularly those affiliated with chains that serve large parties of walk-in customers, produce the most revenues with dedicated tables. Such tables are built for a variety of specific party sizes rather than made up of flexible two-seaters pushed together to form larger tables. (March 17, 2003)
There will be a weekend of celebration, March 28 and 29 — including a free public lecture, workshop and an open concert — as Cornell University welcomes the legendary Fisk Jubilee Singers to Ithaca.
"Sustaining New York Communities in Times of Financial Crisis," a conference sponsored by Cornell University's Community and Rural Development Institute, will be held at the Wyndham Syracuse Hotel, East Syracuse, N.Y., May 15 and 16.
Three Cornell faculty winners of 2002-03 Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellowships -- for effective, inspiring and distinguished teaching of undergraduate students -- were announced at a special dinner on campus March 6.
