Six Cornell faculty win White House early career awards

The White House has recognized six Cornell faculty members, three from the Ithaca campus and three from Weill Cornell Medicine, with 2025 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. The awards were announced Jan. 14.

Researchers put the shine on digitally rendered feathers

Computer animators and video game designers may soon have a better way to create the purple-green sheen of a grackle’s wing, or the pink flash on a hummingbird’s throat, thanks to a new method for rendering iridescent feathers.

Communicating with cotton: CROPPS research in Arizona

In a new video, Molly Edwards ’12 highlights innovations from researchers at the Center for Research on Programmable Plant Systems (CROPPS) aimed at tackling the impacts of heat and drought on agriculture.

Around Cornell

Cavity-nesting birds decorate with snake skin to deter predators

When a bird drapes its nest with snake skin, it isn’t just making an interesting home décor choice. For some birds, it keeps predators at bay.

Postdoc Peiwei Chen named HHMI Hanna Gray Fellow

The awardees are “outstanding early career scientists who have demonstrated a commitment to making foundational discoveries while building an inclusive culture in academic science,” said HHMI in a statement.

Around Cornell

Pupil size in sleep reveals how memories are sorted and preserved

The eyes may be the window to the soul, but the pupil is key to understanding how, and when, the brain forms strong, long-lasting memories, Cornell researchers have found.

Understanding leaves’ resiliency when it rains

New research elucidates a raindrop’s impact on a leaf - the equivalent in mass of a bowling ball hitting a person - and the physical dynamics that help the leaf survive.

Structural cell protein also directly regulates gene transcription

A cell protein previously believed only to provide a scaffolding for DNA has also been shown to directly influence DNA transcription into RNA – the first step of the process by which an organism’s genetic code expresses itself.

New wildlife model captures species interactions in NYS

Researchers in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment have developed a new model to understand wildlife interactions. They’ve found that coyote populations in upstate New York may benefit fishers but not American martens.