Chemical and biological engineer Paulette Clancy and astronomer Jonathan Lunine are members of a Cornell team that in 2015 modeled the membrane now found on Titan. They say the discovery gets us closer to finding life in a truly alien environment.

Engineering

Arts and Sciences

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Natalie Mahowald, a lead author of a U.N. report on global warming and faculty director of the environment at Cornell University’s Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future, Jonathon Schuldt, assistant professor of communication at Cornell University and a faculty fellow at the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future, and Karen Pinkus, professor of Italian and comparative literature at Cornell University and faculty fellow in the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future, comment on what is needed to mitigate global warming.

Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

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On Wednesday, Ford, GM and Toyota announced a new partnership to collaborate on safety standards for self-driving cars. The companies formed a consortium that will work with industry and government to expedite regulations on autonomous vehicles. Arthur Wheaton is an expert on the auto industry and director of Western NY Labor and Environmental Programs for the Worker Institute at Cornell University. He says that in an industry especially averse to uncertainty, working together to cut costs makes complete sense.

Economics and Business

Industrial and Labor Relations

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Protesters in Thailand are accelerating their campaigns against the government by planning a rally in front of a key agency building on Wednesday. Tamara Loos professor of history and Thai studies at Cornell University, says that by picking this specific location protesters want to strike a blow to the financial basis for the king’s power and wealth.

International

Arts and Sciences

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On Monday, the Nobel Committee awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize for Medicine to Drs. William G. Kaelin Jr., Gregg L. Semenza and Peter J. Ratcliffe for their work on oxygen levels and the body’s cells.  Richard Cerione, professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell University, studies cellular pathways that influence various biological outcomes, including cancer progression. He says the scientists’ findings have important implications for our understanding of cancer cells’ behavior.

Arts and Sciences

Veterinary Medicine

Health, Nutrition & Medicine

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Bryn Rosenfeld, assistant professor of government at Cornell University and an expert on the politics of Russia and Eastern Europe comments on the news that the Russian Prime Minister and his cabinet resigned on Wednesday. 

International

Arts and Sciences

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The recently passed Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 includes significant changes to a major agricultural insurance program for dairy farmers. The bill generates new guidelines for the Margin Protection Program for Dairy Producers (MPP-Dairy) and, according to Cornell University agricultural economist Andrew Novakovic, highlights challenges for agriculture as Congress moves toward a new Farm Bill.

Agriculture and Life Sciences

Food & Agriculture

Law, Government & Public Policy

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Barry Strauss, professor of history at Cornell University, says that Qasem Soleimani’s charisma and skill as a leader will be difficult for Iran to replace, thereby making Americans safer.

Law and Policy

Arts and Sciences

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Nine people were killed in the German city of Hanau after a right-wing extremist opened fire in a shisha bar. Mabel Berezin, professor of sociology at Cornell University, is an expert on far-right politics and the history and development of populism and fascism in Europe. 

International

Arts and Sciences

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Olúfémi Táíwò, professor of Africana studies, and Noliwe Rooks, director of American studies and professor of Africana studies, comment on the city of Evanston approving a reparations program.

Law and Policy

Arts and Sciences

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