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News from the Media

  • UMass Cranberry Station Receives Boost

    October 1, 2020

    This year, the work at UMass Cranberry Station got a huge boost in the form of $5.75 million in state support to expand their labs at and modernize the facility. “It’s really momentous. It’s going to be a game-changer for us and for the industry,” said Director of the Cranberry Station Hilary Sandler. (Wareham Weekly 9/30/20)

  • Massachusetts Will Get Some Drought Relief This Week, Says UMass Professor

    September 29, 2020

    David Boutt, geosciences, says Massachusetts has a long way to fill the “massive rainfall deficit” from worsening drought conditions. (Boston Herald, 9/28/20)

  • Fall Foliage in Western Massachusetts Still on Track, UMass Professor Weighs In

    September 16, 2020

    Rick Harper, environmental conservation, says that despite the warm and dry summer, “If we don’t see a warm, humid, drawn out fall, we should see typical beautiful coloration” as shorter days trigger tree leaves to change color. (WWLP, 9/16/20)

  • Growers Say Aid to Cranberry Station Will Help Industry Adapt

    August 27, 2020

    UMass Cranberry Station Director Hilary Sandler comments on recent state funds dedicated to modernize facilities that will help with the growing need for research and support for cranberry growers.  (CapeCodTimes 8/27/20)

  • State Provides Grant for UMass Cranberry Station

    August 27, 2020

    The state  of Massachusetts has granted $5.75 million to the UMass Cranberry Station in Wareham in an effort to promote the cranberry industry.  (CapeCod.com, 8/27/20; News Office release)

  • The Destructive Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, Professor Elkinton Researches

    August 25, 2020

    Joseph Elkinton, environmental conservation, is quoted in an article about the hemlock woolly adelgid, a sap-sucking insect similar in appearance to tiny cotton balls, which has decimated the eastern hemlock population over the last 40 years. (Connecticut Examiner, 8/22/20)

  • Toxic Weed Sprouts Along Falmouth's Bike Path, UMass Extension Comments

    August 24, 2020

    Jimsonweed, an incredibly toxic plant, has sprouted up along the Shining Sea Bikeway in Falmouth. University of Massachusetts Extension weed specialist Randy Prostak offers advice. (Falmouth News 8/21/20)

  • 4-H Programs Go Virtual During Pandemic

    August 17, 2020

    Young people across Hampden County have not let the coronavirus pandemic stop them from participating in 4-H programs this year. “Western Massachusetts 4-H has not missed a beat in this pandemic,” said Tom Waskiewicz, a Western Massachusetts 4-H educator. (Westfield News 8/17/20)

  • Nature Blossoms in Our Retreat

    August 10, 2020

    Christine Hatch, extension associate professor of geosciences, has written a column about nature’s resurgence while humans have been quarantined due to COVID-19. (Gazette, 8/8/20)

  • Developing a Quicker, Safer Method of Cleaning Peanut Butter Factories

    August 5, 2020

    Lynne McLandsborough, University of Massachusetts Amherst food scientist, has received a grant from the USDA to develop an oil-based system to clean and sanitize food processing equipment without water, reducing the high risk for Salmonella contamination associated with nuts. (Food Safety Magazine, News Medical Life Sciences, 8/5/20;Sound Health and Lasting Wealth, 8/4/20; News Office release)

  • Gardening Lessons in a Time of Pandemic

    August 4, 2020

    Responding to renewed interest in backyard vegetable gardening, a team at the Stockbridge School and UMass Extension has launched a series of how-to articles avaialble on the Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment website. (The Sun Chronicle [Attleboro], 8/4/20)

  • Unsolicited Mystery Seeds Mailed to Local Residents

    July 30, 2020

    Amanda Bayer, extension assistant professor in the Stockbridge School, comments on mysterious seeds received in the mail by a Shutesbury resident. This appears to be part of national phenomenon of people receiving unsolicited and unlabeled seeds. (Western Mass News, 7/29/20)

  • Eating Moldy Food, UMass Scientist Discusses Food Safety

    July 15, 2020

    John Gibbons, food science, is interviewed in an article about allegedly moldy jam sold by a high-end Los Angeles restaurant.  He discusses what mold is, how it grows on food, and whether it’s safe to eat. (Grub Street, 7/14/20)

  • Mosquito Season Discussed by UMass Professor Rich

    July 13, 2020

    Stephen Rich, microbiology and director of the Laboratory of Medical Zoology, is quoted in a report about mosquitos in Western Massachusetts and concerns about Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE).  (Republican 7/13/20)

  • Common Food Additive Causes Adverse Health Effects in Mice

    July 8, 2020

    A common food additive, recently banned in France but allowed in the U.S. and many other countries, was found to significantly alter gut microbiota in mice, causing inflammation in the colon and changes in protein expression in the liver, according to research led by Hang Xiao, UMass food science. "I think our results have a lot of implications in the food industry and on human health and nutrition," he said. (SciTechDaily.com 7/26/20; StudyFinds.org 7/21/20; Phys.org; Austinindian.com, 6/25/20; News Office release)  

  • UMass Researchers Helped Develop WattScale

    July 8, 2020

    Researchers including faculty members David Irwin, Prashan Shenoy, engineering, and Benjamin Weil, environmental conservation, have developed WattScale, an open-source AI tool that identifies energy-wasting homes. (VentureBeat, 7/7/20)

  • Nanoplastics Can Build up in Plants and Stunt Growth, Xing Discovers

    June 23, 2020

    Research by Baoshan Xing, environmental and soil chemistry, and colleagues in China, is showing direct evidence that nanoplastics can accumulate in land plants. Xing says, “Plant accumulation of nanoplastics can have both direct ecological effects and implications for agricultural sustainability and food safety.”  (BioplasticsNews 7/6/20; Technology Networks, 6/24/20; iCrowdNewswire, 6/23/20  Environmental News Network, ScienceDaily, 6/22/20;  News Office release)

  • NIFA Grant Funds Study on Anti-inflammatory Benefits of Strawberries

    June 18, 2020

    Hang Xiao, food science, has received a federal grant to expand his research into the health benefits of strawberries. Xiao and colleagues will aim to identify the mechanism by which whole strawberries affect the gut in positive ways. (Vegetable Growers News, 6/17/20)

  • UMass Magazine Lists Extension As Gardening Resource

    June 16, 2020

    UMass magazine publishes article about home gardening, touting extension fact sheets as great resource. (UMass Magazine, summer 2020)

     

  • Ohio Gardening Tip Sheet- UMass Extension Resource Mentioned

    June 16, 2020

    An article in Ohio newspaper offers advice for vegetable gardening and includes a tip sheet from UMass Extension among its list of resources. (Akron Beacon Journal, 6/11/20)

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