Eric Decker, food science, says Omega-3 fats decrease mortality and the odds of sudden cardiac arrest in people who have already suffered a heart attack. He says Omega-3s may lower triglyceride levels by as much as 35 percent and studies show that fish oil consumption can reduce risk of depression and dementia.
News from the Media
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Omega - 3s
March 10, 2013 -
Caffeine Buzz
March 7, 2013Lynn Adler, biology, says the discovery that some plants use caffeine to boost the memory of bees when they drink nectar is exciting news. She also says there are many unknown compounds in nectar that serve some purpose for plants.
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A Sugary Tradition
March 6, 2013Paul Catanzaro, environmental conservation, says maple sugaring is part of the regional tradition and has become popular not just as a way to make money, but also as a way to connect to nature.
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Out of Season Tomato Flavor
March 5, 2013Ruth Hazzard, UMass Extension, comments in a story about the many types of small tomatoes that are available at this time of year. She says there are many factors that affect the flavor of the tomatoes, including when they were picked, whether they were vine-ripened and how far they have traveled.
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Medicinal Marijuana
February 21, 2013Lyle Craker, Stockbridge School of Agriculture, is interviewed about his more than a decade-long battle with federal authorities to secure permission to grow marijuana so he can study its medicinal effects.
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Reduced-Fat Food Emulsions
February 20, 2013New research conducted by Julian McClements, food science, and Cheryl Chung, a postdoctoral associate, looks into major factors that influence the formulation of high quality reduced-fat food emulsions.
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New Malaria Treatment
February 10, 2013Stephen M. Rich, microbiology and director of the Laboratory of Medical Zoology, has led a research team who report a promising new low-cost combined therapy with a much higher chance of outwitting P. falciparum, the mosquito-borne parasite which causes the deadliest form of malaria than current modes. He and plant biochemist Pamela Weathers at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), with research physician Doug Golenbock at the UMass Medical School, also in Worcester, have designed an approach for treating malaria based on a new use of Artemisia annua, a plant employed for thousands of years in Asia to treat fever.
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Tick-Borne Illness Discovered
January 17, 2013Stephen Rich, microbiology and director of the Laboratory of Medical Zoology, comments in a story about a new and as-yet unnamed tick-borne illness that has been discovered on Nantucket. He says ticks contain more than 250 bacteria, any one of which could cause disease.
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Winter Moth Control
December 13, 2012Joseph Elkinton of UMass Extension, talks about how scientists are trying to control the winter moth by using another insect that feeds on the moths. Winter moths are considered a menace because in areas where they exist in large numbers they defoliate trees.
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Winter Moth Emergence
December 9, 2012Joseph Elkinton of UMass Extension, discusses the emergence of winter moths in part of Massachusetts. He says scientists think the weather prompts the emergence of the insects.
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Cigarettes Line Bird nests
December 5, 2012Paige Warren of the Department of Environmental Conservation, says new findings that birds that line their nests with cigarette butts prevent pests such as mites.
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Hard Cider
October 26, 2012Duane Greene, comments in a story about a local company that makes and sells hard cider.
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A Great Year for Pumpkins
October 15, 2012Ruth V. Hazzard, UMass Extension, says this year’s pumpkin crop is turning out to be excellent and high quality.
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Emerald Ash Borer: Not so Boring!
October 9, 2012Robert Childs is interviewed for the “Connecting Point” program about the emerald ash borer, an invasive insect that has been discovered in trees in the Berkshires. The borer is a destructive insect that is moving into the region from the Mid West where it was first discovered.
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Ethnic Crops Rising
August 28, 2012The Ethnic Crops Program is growing and selling dozens of crops popular among many ethnic groups to markets across the state and has added chipilín, a leafy green loved by Latinos. Frank Mangan, director of the ethnic crops initiative at UMass Amherst’s Stockbridge School of Agriculture, says farms in Methuen, Dracut, Lancaster and Amesbury shipped 2,000 pounds of chipilín in recent weeks to the Boston area, where the fresh, locally grown greens are snapped up by people hungry for familiar vegetables and produce.
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‘Alarming’ Rate of Cold-Stranded Sea Turtles in Cape Cod Bay, UMass Investigates
Lucas Griffin, postdoctoral researcher in environmental conservation, is quoted in an article about the increase in stranding of Kemp’s ridley sea turtles on Cape Cod. Griffin explains that warming sea water has led the turtles to migrate further north in the summer but the animals are not prepared for the cold winter that follows. (New York Times, 12/19/19; News Office release)
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CAFE’s Clean Energy Extension Works on Large Battery Project at UMass Amherst
UMass Amherst has been awarded a $1.1 million state grant from the Advancing Commonwealth Energy Storage project to work with Tesla Energy to construct a large battery at the Central Heating Plant. Working with Tesla and the Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment’s Clean Energy Extension, the goal is to reduce peak energy demand on the Amherst campus and related costs. (Business West12/8/17, Energy Manager Today 12/8/17, Masslive/Springfield Republican 12/7/17, Commonwealth magazine 12/7/17, WBUR 12/7/17, State House News Service 12/7/17, Electrek 12/10/17, Framingham Source 12/8/17, Daily Hampshire Gazette 12/13/17, Greenfield Recorder 12/14/17)
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Jon M. Clements, UMass Extension, comments on alternative specialty crops
Jon M. Clements, UMass Extension, is one of five experts commenting on alternative specialty crops small farmers should consider growing. He says table grapes are in demand and consumers like the idea of picking their own grapes. (Growing Produce, 8/22/17)
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The Secret to Making People Care About Climate Change
Ezra Markowitz, assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and co-author, Lisa Zaval, research people's attitudes about climate change. Considering their legacy can make a difference. (1/5/16 Washington Post)
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The Secret to Making People Care About Climate Change
Ezra Markowitz, assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and co-author Lisa Zaval researched attidtudes towards climate change. Combining self-interest and our desire to help others in need suggests a promising way to shift attitudes and to consider their own future legacy. (1/4/16 Washington Post)
