NSF awards $22.5M to continue plant-human communication projects

The Cornell-led multi-institutional Center for Research on Programmable Plant Systems will continue work to transform agriculture by enabling direct two-way communication with crop plants’ internal processes. 

Sheep grazing in solar fields offers farmers economic, ecological gains

As solar grazing expands across the country, new research helps sheep farmers increase profitability and sheds light on the how the number of sheep in solar array fields interacts with beneficial insects.

‘Rooted in Reciprocity’: Indigenous students share stories of how plants fuel connection

Through plants and personal stories, a new student-led exhibit at Cornell Botanic Gardens explores the concept that people live because the natural world lives.

New technique holds promise for improved gene editing

A new engineered gene editing system addresses some of the limitations of current gene editing tools with the hope of improving their use for research, for better crops or to treat diseases.   

Sea change: WildFin aims to improve fish behavior analysis in the wild

A doctoral student and a team of Cornell researchers and colleagues created WildFin, a data set composed of nine hours of video that they labeled frame-by-frame with fish behaviors.

Mysterious oarfish’s fins inspire large underwater robot design

Oarfish, giant fish rarely spotted by humans, have hundreds of unique dorsal fin rays, which help propel the fish forward.

More damaged trees mean fewer ecosystem benefits for low-income residents

As an undergraduate researcher, Maya Mangala-Munuma '25 found that trees were three times more likely to be damaged in impoverished, racially diverse neighborhoods. 

New type of human jumping gene found in a poxvirus

Scientists found a human genetic element in a poxvirus that is both an important gene for brain function and a jumping gene capable of moving and inserting itself in genomes.   

Jenga and the US census: way more than just counting people

A new book, “Data Are Made, Not Found,” from danah boyd, professor of communication, is an insider’s account of the 2020 census and how the pandemic and political forces from left, right and center threatened to take it down like a Jenga tower.