R&D
More information on campus research is available at www.news.cornell.edu
Researchers at Cornell and the USDA have found that traits in maize plants are influenced by the combined effects of many genes. In addition to potentially revolutionizing maize breeding, the work could offer insight into human genetics. Says geneticist Ed Buckler: "We looked as hard as we could for big genes and big effects, but they don't exist."
Two years into a five-year study, researchers are assessing a combined approach of sterilization and hunting to control campus deer populations and their associated hazards. They surgically sterilized fifty-eight does on central campus and are allowing hunting in rural areas.
According to genetic analysis, African village dogs are not a mixture of modern breeds, but instead are direct descendents of an ancestral pool of indigenous dogs. The study by biological statistics professor Carlos Bustamante sheds light on the history of dog domestication.
Carbon nanotubes could serve as more efficient solar cells than traditional silicon. Researchers led by physics professor Paul McEuen created and tested a simple solar cell called a photodiode and found the device converts light to electricity extremely efficiently.
A small piece of foreign DNA called Tn7 can slip into a bacterium's genetic code, allowing it to become resistant to antibiotics. Microbiology professor Joseph Peters has described how Tn7 and other "jumping genes" transfer genetic information.
Plant breeding professor Susan McCouch, PhD '90, has been exploring the origins of the highly valued fragrance of rice varieties like basmati and jasmine. She found that it stems from a gene in an ancestor of basmati—and that although basmati was long thought to be classified as an Indica rice, it has its roots in Japonica.
The rising costs of chemotherapy for colorectal cancer are worth it when longevity and quality of life are considered, say policy analysis professors Sean Nicholson and Claudio Lucarelli. They compared newer medications with those from 1993.
In 1964, researchers offered a theory to explain the "arms race" between insects and plants: adaptive radiation, in which species rapidly diversify as they colonize new resources. Now, ecology professor Anurag Agrawal has tested the theory on milkweed. He found that although it held true, the number of defensive traits in the plants declined more quickly than expected.
Give My Regards To…
These Cornellians in the News
President David Skorton, appointed to the advisory council for Goldman Sachs's $500 million, five-year initiative to grow small businesses.
Economics chair Kaushik Basu, named chief economic adviser in India's Ministry of Finance. He'll take a two-year leave from Cornell.
Neurologist Ralph Sacco '79, an expert in stroke prevention, named president-elect of the American Heart Association.
Virginia state Supreme Court justice Barbara Milano Keenan '71, nominated by President Obama to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Nutritional sciences professor Per Pinstrup-Andersen, named by the Danish magazine Udvikling (Development) as the "most important Dane in the world" for his work combating poverty in developing countries.
Grad students Shuang Zhao (computer science) and Mark Cianchetti (electrical and computer engineering), winners of PhD Fellowship Awards from Intel Corp.
Music professor Roberto Sierra, nominated for a Grammy in the Best Contemporary Classical Composition category for his orchestral work Missa Latina Pro Pace.
English professor Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon, selected as a finalist for the National Book Award for her poetry collection Open Interval.
Dorian Komanoff Bandy '10, winner of a Marshall Scholarship to study Baroque violin at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Laurence Steinberg, PhD '77, a Temple University professor and leading scholar on juvenile justice, winner of a $1 million research prize from the Zurich-based Jacobs Foundation for his work on developmental adolescent psychology.