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Turfgrass, Golf and Weddings!
Lindsey Hoffman, a doctoral student studying turfgrass physiology, took full advantage of a $5,000 grant to attend the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America Education Conferenc and Golf Industry Show held Feb. 27 to March 3 in Las Vegas. She and her boyfriend, fellow Stockbridge School grad Mario Gagliardi, visited one of the city’s famed drive-through wedding chapels and tied the knot. (Golf Course Management magazine, 3/27/12)
A New Sweat Sipping Bee Species
Anne Averill, plant, soil and insect sciences, comments in a story about the discovery of a tiny new native bee that sips sweat from human skin. She says the tiny bees are among many unknown or overlooked native bees. She is conducting research on native bees with a $3.3 million federal grant that hopes to use the native species for agriculture. (Wall Street Journal, Daily Mail [U.K.] 4/28/12)
Grant Allows the Study of All-Natural Nanoparticles
UMass Amherst food scientist David Julian McClements recently received a three-year, $400,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study the design and fabrication of all-natural nanoparticles for delivering oil-soluble vitamins and other nutrients in food products. Increasingly, food manufacturers want to use nanoparticles to boost nutrition by adding compounds with health benefits such as carotenoids, omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins A, D and E, sometimes called “nutraceuticals.” The tiny capsules can be designed to preserve nutritional value and freshness, enhance nutrient bioavailability and maintain desirable product quality. (Physorg.com, 4/27/12; News Office release) (Azom.com, 4/30/12; Prepared Foods Network, 4/27/12; News Office release)
A New Healing Potion?!
Chris Kilham of UMass plant, soil and insect sciences, writes a column about the health benefits of the psychoactive brew ayahuasca – a hallucinogenic potion made from two Amazonian rainforest plants. He says,the brew, when administered in traditional ceremonies, helps people respond to traumatic stress disorders, chronic coughs and other health problems. (Fox News, 4/25/12)
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