UMass Amherst food scientist Hang Xiao recently received a four-year, $491,220 grant to study the biochemical fate of nanoemulsion-based food delivery systems in the gastrointestinal tract, hoping to re-shape them and enhance the absorption of beneficial food components encapsulated in delivery systems. Food biochemists like Xiao believe that if taken up in appropriate amounts and forms, certain food components known as nutraceuticals might benefit human health by providing anti-inflammatory or anti-cancer effects. Nutraceuticals include flavonoids and carotenoids in fruits and vegetables, for example.
News from the Media
Hang Xiao Receives Grant to Study Biochemical Fate of Nanoemulsion-Based Food Delivery Systems in the GI Tract
January 17, 2014
Scott Jackson, Conservationist of the Year
January 14, 2014
Scott Jackson, environmental conservation, has been named Conservationist of the Year by the Massachusetts chapter of the Nature Conservancy. Republican, 1/4/14
UMass Amherst officials plan 2.4 Mw solar panel array
January 14, 2014
UMass Amherst officials are planning to build a solar panel array that would generate 2.4 megawatts of electricity in conjunction with ConEdison Development. The facility would be built on 10 acres the university owns in Hadley. Stephen Herbert, associate dean of agricultural research and outreach at the UMass Amherst Center for Agriculture, is leading the project. It must secure conservation permits in order to proceed.
Richard W. Harper Finds Good News in Cold Weather
January 13, 2014
Richard W. Harper, UMass Amherst environmental conservation, says the recent severe cold weather could be good news for local forests because some insect pests, such as the hemlock wooly adelgid, can’t survive long stretches of intense cold. The populations of such pests will recover over time, however, experts say.
John M. Clark and Team Seek Source of Body Louse Pathology
January 8, 2014
A team of entomologists, including John M. Clark, UMass Amherst veterinary and animal sciences, has found out why the human head louse and the body louse, the same species, differ in their ability to transmit disease to their hosts. They say head lice are smaller and may contain more beneficial bacteria than body lice, which are larger. The larger lice apparently are more likely to get sick from the bacteria and pass it on to a host.
Klaus Nusslein Researches Amazon Rainforest: Effects of pastureland conversion
January 7, 2014
Klaus Nusslein, UMass Amherst microbiologist, is part of a research team that is studying how the conversion of Amazon rainforest to pastureland has significant effect on microorganism communities that play a key role in the region’s ability to serve as a reservoir for greenhouse gas.
Joseph Elkinton Investigates Winter Moth Destruction in Western Massachusetts
December 16, 2013
Joseph Elkinton, UMass Amherst environmental conservationalist, is leading efforts to find out if winter moths, destructive insects that have defoliated trees in eastern and southeastern Massachusetts, are moving into this region. He says there are more of them being observed, but so far they haven’t been seen in numbers high enough to cause concern. An online survey of the insects is available to track the insects.
Danylchuk Documents Rarely Seen Pre-spawning Behavior in Bonefish
December 13, 2013
Bonefish are among the most elusive and highly prized quarry of recreational anglers in the Florida Keys, the Bahamas and similar tropical habitats around the world. Now a research team including fish ecologist Andy Danylchuk, Environmental Conservation Department, UMass Amherst, has documented rarely seen pre-spawning behavior in bonefish, which should aid future conservation efforts. Habitat degradation and overfishing by uncontrolled netting threaten the bonefish, yet recreational fishing for this group of fishes is worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually, say scientists. Danylchuk and Aaron Adams, director of operations for Bonefish & Tarpon Trust at the Florida Institute of Technology where Adams is also an assistant research professor, are scrambling to identify and protect critical habitats and identify other ways to conserve the fishery. With others, Adams and Danylchuk recently tracked a school of more than 10,000 bonefish as they completed the final stages of spawning migrations in the Bahamas. Adams recently shared results with the Bahamas Ministry of the Environment and conservation collaborators Bahamas National Trust and The Nature Conservancy.
Andrew Danylchuk Documents Rare Sight for Future Conservation Efforts
December 12, 2013
A research team including fish ecologist Andy Danylchuk, environmental conservation, has documented rarely seen pre-spawning behavior in bonefish, which should aid future conservation efforts. Bonefish, sometimes called the gray ghost, are among the most elusive and highly prized quarry of recreational anglers in the Florida Keys, the Bahamas and similar tropical habitats around the world.
Elkinton Comments on Return of Winter Moths
December 4, 2013
Joseph Elkinton, environmental conservation, comments in a story about the return of winter moths to parts of eastern Massachusetts. He says some areas will see a heavy infestation of the insects.