Bart Selman, professor of computer science at Cornell University and an expert on artificial intelligence safety issues, comments on Tesla's efforts to develop fully-autonomous vehicles.

Computing & Information Sciences

Engineering

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This week the U.S. Department of Agriculture released a proposed revision which could drastically change regulations for genetically-modified crops. Matthew R. Willmann is the director of the Plant Transformation Facility at Cornell University and has 25 years of plant science research experience, having studied plant transformation and genome editing to improve crop plants. He says the revision will lower costs, lead to a broader range of genetically-engineered plants, and reduce time for improved plants to reach growers which will allow agriculture to be more reactive in response to climate change and plant diseases.

Agriculture and Life Sciences

Food & Agriculture

Law, Government & Public Policy

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The Biden administration is forging ahead with plans to lease federal waters — stretching nearly the entire coastline — to wind power developers. Cornell University researchers are engaged in multiple aspects of this story.

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

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Kim Weeden, professor of sociology and director of Cornell University’s Center for the Study of Inequality, says a new White House executive order addresses that some regulation is necessary to protect consumers, but occupational licensing creates inequality in the workforce.

Law and Policy

Economics and Business

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Cornell University labor experts are available to weigh in on the increased focus on workplace safety, gig economy growth, unemployment and employee shortages, climate jobs, social justice at work and more.

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Don Banfield, a senior research associate specializing in planetary sciences at Cornell University, comments on Martian dust storms like the one threatening NASA's Opportunity rover. He says it's important to consider the risks associated with dust storms, like the one that has silenced the Opportunity rover, when designing future missions to Mars.

Physical Sciences & Engineering

Arts and Sciences

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Arthur DeGaetano, director of the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University, and climatologists Jessica Spaccio and Samantha Borisoff are available for interviews about Hurricane Florence and can discuss landfall probabilities, past similar storms, and anticipated impacts.

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

Physical Sciences & Engineering

Engineering

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Next week, Israelis will head to the polls in a snap election, where the incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will face off against Benny Gantz, leader of the centrist Blue and White alliance. Netanyahu, who has failed to form a coalition after a narrow electoral victory in April, has mounted an aggressive campaign ahead of next week’s vote including pledging to annex additional parts of the West Bank.   Uriel Abulof, visiting professor at Cornell University’s Government Department and a senior lecturer of politics at Tel-Aviv University, says that despite Netanyahu’s unlikely chances at the polls next week, his influence as a populist may reach beyond Israel.

International

Arts and Sciences

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Michelle Wang, professor of physics at Cornell University, and Steven Adie, professor of biomedical engineering at Cornell University, comment on how Nobel laureate Arthur Ashkin influenced their work.

Physical Sciences & Engineering

Arts and Sciences

Engineering

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In the aftermath of Qasem Soleimani’s killing, President Trump on Twitter threatened to attack 52 Iranian sites that are important to “the Iranian culture,” a threat that has drawn criticism and condemnation as “cultural cleansing” and an action in violation of international law.

Arts & Humanities

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