New York, NY (September 12, 2002) -- As environmentalists have pointed out, it can be as dangerous to be outdoors behind a city bus -- walking, or bicycling -- as it is to be in front of one. All the exhaust and smoke -- even when they have been reduced by "clean air technology" -- can damage a person's health. The dangers of urban air pollution are of special concern to people who exercise by running, bicycling, or skating: these people, while trying to help their bodies through exercise, should take care that they don't harm them through exposure to air pollution.Dr. Joseph T. Cooke, Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College -- and Associate Director of Medical Critical Care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital's Weill Cornell Medical Center -- says that air pollution is definitely a problem for those who work out in the city. "The main culprits are ozone, fine particulate matter, and carbon monoxide," he says. "These pollutants irritate the lungs and respiratory system, and can exacerbate the problems of persons with underlying disease -- whether respiratory disease such as asthma, bronchitis, or emphysema, or cardiopulmonary maladies."
As Kenya's population grows, the available farmland dwindles and the environment is degraded, raising many questions: Are growers irreversibly mining the soil? Can poor agricultural management practices be blamed for decreasing crop yields and the exodus of people to cities? How can the economic and environmental deterioration be reversed? To answer these and other questions about this East African country of 30.7 million people, the National Science Foundation has awarded $1.67 million to Cornell University over five years to examine the complex relationship between Kenyan small farmers, their communities and the land on which they depend for their livelihoods. (September 12, 2002)
To remove a grass stain, would you use banana oil, detergent, ammonia, vinegar, alcohol or bleach? Or, would you just give up? A new publication by textile experts at Cornell – provides laboratory-tested details on removing almost 250 different stains.
Alyssa B. Apsel of Cornell University has been named the Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Apsel, an assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering since July 1.
Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) will host an open house for prospective freshman students Saturday, Oct. 5.
After nine years away, David Koehler will return to Cornell as director of business information systems for Cornell Information Technologies Oct. 1. He will lead Cornell's multimillion-dollar project to modernize its administrative systems over the next five years.
GENEVA, N.Y. -- Cornell University entomologists have unlocked an evolutionary secret to how insects evolve into new species. The discovery has major implications for the control of insect populations through disruption of mating, suggesting that over time current eradication methods could become ineffective, similar to the way insects develop pesticide resistance. The researchers, led by Wendell L. Roelofs, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Insect Biochemistry at Cornell, made the discovery while examining ways to keep European corn borers from mating, multiplying and then chewing up farmers' fields. They discovered the existence of a previously undetected gene, the delta-14, that can regulate the attractant chemicals produced in sex-pheromone glands of female borers. The gene can be suddenly switched on, changing the pheromone components that females use to attract males for mating. (September 10, 2002)
This fall, the Cornell Tradition is celebrating 20 years of rewarding excellence in undergraduate service, work and scholarship. Cornell University's alumni-supported recognition program awards 600 fellowships each year to undergraduate students based on their work experience, campus and/or community service, leadership and academic achievement. In 2000, the program was recognized as a Daily Point of Light by President George W. Bush's Points of Light Foundation. (September 10, 2002)
Instead of landfills clogged with computer and car parts, packaging and a myriad of other plastic parts, a Cornell University fiber scientist has a better idea. In coming years, he says, many of these discarded items will be composted. The key to this "green" solution, says researcher Anil Netravali, is fully biodegradable composites made from soybean protein and other biodegradable plastics and plant-based fibers, developed at Cornell and elsewhere. (September 9, 2002)
Overcoming the drawbacks of growing up with a single parent, black children do as well, both academically and socially, as blacks in two-parent homes, a study by Cornell and University of Utah researchers indicates.
Cornell University Provost Biddy Martin announced today (Sept. 5) that she has appointed a faculty committee to begin the search for a new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
