How does a little girl growing up in the big city of San Francisco develop an abiding love and appreciation for nature and a passion for biology? Go fish. "My parents enjoyed fishing, and although my sister had no interest, I loved it," says Helene Dillard, director of Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Dilute solutions of alcohol -- though not beer or wine -- can reduce paperwhite growth by half but not affects its flowers, says William Miller, professor of horticulture and director of the Flower Bulb Research Program at Cornell. (March 31, 2006)
Around the world, soil is being swept and washed away 10 to 40 times faster than it is being replenished, destroying cropland the size of Indiana every year, reports a new Cornell University study.
Bird experts believed for years that once a bird learned songs, the calls stayed relatively fixed throughout their lives, but a new study of loons, streamlined fish-eating water birds, calls those beliefs into question. (March 7, 2006)
If a Danish newspaper doesn't have the freedom to publish cartoons depicting Muhammad, should the TV cartoon show "South Park" also not be free to satirize Mormons? That was the question posed by Michael Shapiro, associate professor of communication at Cornell, in a panel discussion Feb. 21.
With no known enemies in North America, two types of invasive vines are growing rampant in forests and fields, threatening reforestation, fragile butterfly populations and bird habitats.
Even though Diamond, Country Value and Professional brand dog foods have been recalled for containing highly toxic aflatoxins, they have caused an estimated 100 dog deaths in recent weeks, say Cornell veterinarians.
While dogs keep dying from eating pet food tainted with aflatoxin, Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine is announcing it has developed protein tests that accurately indicate a dog's liver failure caused by the toxin.
