John G. Gibbons, food science, says the discovery of how a fungus evolves into edible mold that is the key to making French cheeses such as Camenbert shows both how a favorite food item evolved and how fungus can be manipulated without genetic engineering. (New York Times 10/15/19; Yahoo! News 10/16/19)
News from the Media
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This Fungus Mutates. That’s Good News if You Like Cheese.
October 22, 2019 -
Cranberry Market Seeks to Develop New Products, Hilary Sandler Comments
October 10, 2019Ocean Spray wades into new waters with a line of cranberry-based tea tonics and oat milk elixirs. Hilary Sandler, director of the UMass Cranberry Station, a research laboratory weighs in. (Globe 10/10/19)
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Deep Soils Have Dual Role In Global Carbon Cycle: Keiluweit Reports
October 9, 2019UMass Doctoral student, Mariela Garcia-Arredondo, with her advisor, biogeochemist Marco Keiluweit, UMass Amherst’s Stockbridge School of Agriculture, and others, report how their new model is designed to predict how deep soil carbon responds to environmental change and to offer a better understanding of the mechanisms controlling soil carbon storage at depth. (Scienceblog 10/8/19)
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Climate Change Impacts on Invasive Species: Bradley Presents at North American Confernce
October 3, 2019Bethany A. Bradley, environmental conservation, comments in a news story about how climate change is having an impact on the spread of invasive species in the region. (Times Union, 10/2/19)
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Foliage Changes Discussed by Richard Harper
October 1, 2019Richard W. Harper, environmental conservation and UMass Extension, explains why foliage changes colors in fall as days get shorter. (WWLP-TV 22, 9/28/19)
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Young Farmers Fulfill Dreams of Working the Land, UMass Amanda Brown Quoted
September 26, 2019An article about young farmers in Franklin County quotes Amanda Brown, director of the UMass Student Farming Enterprise Program and the Stockbridge School of Agriculture’s Agricultural Learning Center. She says the learning curve for first-time farmers is steep and she advises new farmers to spend a couple years learning by working for a good established farmer. (Recorder 9/20/19)
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Springfield Public Schools Expand Partnership With UMass Extension Nutrition Education Program
September 25, 2019Springfield Public Schools, working with its dining service management company, Sodexo, will use their USDA grant funds to build five to seven new teaching gardens at schools. They’ll also expand parental involvement in partnership with the Springfield Food Policy Council and UMass Extension Nutrition Education Program. (Gazette 9/23/19)
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Raising Green Beef: How Cattle, Dairy Farmers are Becoming Environmentally Friendly
September 21, 2019Article on environmentally-friendly dairy farming practices quotes Extension Professor Masoud Hashemi, Stockbridge School of Agriculture, on the historical move from use of nitrogen-fixing legumes to the application of artificial fertilizers and the resulting danger of contamination of water bodies and underground sources of water. (Daily Hampshire Gazette, 9/21/19)
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Rejuvenating Tired Soil
September 20, 2019UMass Extension help utilized in effort to rejuvenate soil for new community garden in Greenfield. (Greenfield Recorder, 9/20/19)
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Model Created for NASA to Predict Vitamin Levels in Spaceflight Food
September 16, 2019A team of food scientists led by Hang Xiao and Timothy Goulette have created a mathematical model for NASA to use in predicting degradation of vitamins in spaceflight food. This will allow for more efficient scheduling of resupply trips. (AstroWatch 9/17/19; Pharmacy Industry Reports, 9/18/19; Phys.org, 9/12/19; News-Medical.net, Lab Manager, 9/13/19; News Office release)
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Julian McClements Discusses Popularity of Plant-Based Foods
September 9, 2019David Julian McClements, Distinguished Professor in food science, discusses the growing popularity of plant-based foods and meat substitutes. (WGBY, 9/4/19)
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MassDEP: No Danger to Public After Sulphuric Acid Leak, Danylchuk Weighs in
September 4, 2019COLRAIN — The state Department of Environmental Protection said there is no danger to the public accessing the North River or the downstream Deerfield or Connecticut rivers following a sulphuric acid leak that resulted in a fish kill over the weekend. Andy Danylchuk, associate professor of fish conservation at UMass Amherst, comments. (Recorder 9/4/19)
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70th Worcester County 4-H Fair returns to Barre
August 24, 2019The 70th annual Worcester County 4-H Fair returned for a second year to the fairgrounds on Old Coldbrook Road, in Barre. Nearly 300 4-H exhibitors from 4-H clubs across Worcester County, neighboring counties and New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island were on hand as clear skies and cool, dry air carried an early hint of fall, providing ideal weather for fairgoers. Extension 4-H Youth Development Program assistant director Linda Horn and CAFE Assistant Director William Miller made opening remarks. (Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 8/24/19)
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Rare Bee Species Discovered Near Great Lakes
August 28, 2019The discovery of a rare bee species in Northern Wisconsin notes that Joan Milam, adjunct research fellow at UMass environmental conservation, confirmed the discovery. (MLive, NBC 26 [Green Bay], Fox 11 News [Green Bay], 8/22/19)
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UMass Amherst Research Suggests Eating Fried Food may Worsen Colon Cancer
August 28, 2019UMass Amherst food scientists report on the impact of eating fried foods on inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer. (IBDNews 9/4/19; Boston Globe, MassLive, 8/27/19; News Office release)
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Gypsy Moths On The Decline — For Now — But Damage Is Already Done
August 20, 2019Tawny R. Simisky, UMass Extension, comments in a story about how defoliation in Massachusetts forests caused by gypsy moths spiked in 2017 but has been declining ever since because of the presence of a fungus called entomophaga maimaiga. (WNPR [CT], 8/19/19)
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Melting Ice, Raging Fires: Summer In The Arctic, Courtesy Of Climate Change
August 19, 2019Julie Brigham-Grette, geosciences, participated in the radio program “On Point” as part of a discussion of climate changes in the Arctic. (WBUR, 8/16/19)
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Evolution of Wild Tomatoes
August 15, 2019Ana L. Caicedo, UMass biology, and Jacob R. Barnett, a doctoral student in organismic and evolutionary biology, are studying the evolution of wild tomatoes in an effort to create plants that are disease and pest resistant and also have good flavor and appearance. (Vegetable Growers News 8/14/19)
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Following Breeding Green Sea Turtles in Remote Islands of Brazil
August 7, 2019Lisa Komoroske, environmental conservation, is using drones to study reproductive and migration patterns of green sea turtles on remote Brazilian islands. (Drone Below, 8/2/19; News Office release)
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Developing Hybird Wine Grapes in Repsonse to Climate Change
July 29, 2019Massachusetts winemakers are responding to climate change. Sonia Schloemann and Elsa Petit, both from the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, are working with other scientists around the country to develop hybrid grapes better able to withstand changing weather patterns. (Fox 25 News, 7/25/19)
