A new report from researchers at UMass Amherst and the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center (NCASC) says maple syrup production will decline in New England in the next century as rising temperatures shift peak syrup production northward into Canada. Toni Lyn Morelli NCASC and Kristina Stinson, environmental conservation were on the research team. (NBC5 6/24/19; Gazette, 6/21/19; ScienceBlog, 6/18/19; News Office release)
An article reporting that close-up images of several strains of norovirus reveal the virus comes in a variety of sizes quotes Matthew D. Moore, food science, who says this discovery could aid in vaccine development. (ScienceNews, 6/17/19)
Scientists from UMass Amherst, led by John Gibbons, food science, have shed new light on the genomic foundation of the polar bear’s ecological adaptation. Gibbons, along with Ph.D. student Shu Zhao and graduate students from Vanderbilt and Clark University, have published findings pinpointing rapid changes in the bear’s gene copy numbers in response to their diet shifting from vegetation to meat. (CBC, 6/23/19; Phys.org, 6/17/19; Technology Networks, 6/18/19; News Office release)
David Sela, food sciences and microbiology, says three new studies that track people’s microbiomes though health and disease, specifically prediabetes, inflammatory bowel disease and pregnancy, are “expansive” and “well executed.” He was not involved in studies. (The Scientist 5/29/19)
ReGreen President David V. Bloniarz, who is also project director for the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, said the Forest Park Arboretum project in Springfield is well under way. “By October 2019, we will have labeled the first 300 trees,” Bloniarz said, adding that the project’s goal is to have 500 trees labeled by August 2020. (Republican, 5/28/19)
A new book, “Future Foods: How Modern Science is Transforming the Way We Eat,” by David Julian McClements, food science, looks at innovations like 3-D food printers, nano foods and bug burgers. (Lancaster Farming, 6/1/19; NEPR 6/5/19; Medicine News Line, 5/27/19; Phys.org, 5/24/19; News Office release)
At a public event held at UMass Amherst’s Mount Ida campus, Stephen Rich, microbiology, presented information about TickReport, a service his lab runs that allows people to mail in ticks and receive a report about disease-causing microbes the tick may be carrying. (Boston 25 News, 5/14/19; News Office release)
David F. Boutt, UMass geosciences, says environmental issues may hamper future mining of lithium, a key chemical used in rechargeable batteries. He says mining in Chile is complicated by the need to protect water tables and maintain habitats for flamingoes and other wild birds. (Science News, 5/7/19)
Scott D. Jackson, UMass Extension and environmental conservation, comments in a news story about the regional effects outlined in a United Nations report that finds the loss of plant and animal species around the world will increase in coming years. Jackson says he is worried about the unexpected consequences of biodiversity loss. (Globe 5/6/19)
A collaboration of four federal and state agencies (at UMass led by Profesor Christine Hatch), raised a genetically-pure native Bonneville cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii utah) and found an excellent mountain creek in Nevada for restoration. (Gazette 5/3/19)
