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A zoom call pulled up on a laptop with a green mug next to it on the table

News

Appearance, social norms keep students off Zoom cameras
When the semester shifted online amid the COVID-19 pandemic last spring, instructor Mark Sarvary, Ph.D. ’06, and his teaching staff decided to encourage – but not require – students to switch on their cameras. It didn’t turn out as they’d hoped...
  • Behavior
  • Communication

News

Proteins unspool DNA so cells can take on unique properties
New research reveals how proteins, called “pioneer transcription factors,” help turn on key genes that give cell types their unique properties and functions. These pioneer factors, it turns out, help unspool tightly wound coils of DNA so that...
  • Molecular Biology and Genetics
  • Biology
  • Genetics
five different sorghum races lined up next to one another

News

Early breeding reduced harmful mutations in sorghum
A new comparative study investigates whether the same patterns found in maize occurred in sorghum, a gluten-free grain grown for both livestock and human consumption. The researchers were surprised to find the opposite is true: Harmful mutations...
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Molecular Biology and Genetics
  • Agriculture

News

Microbiology Chair Esther Angert joins CALS senior leadership team

“CALS is in a unique position to help the world navigate global challenges, leveraging our commitment to purpose-driven science and impact for the 21st century, the solutions century,” Houlton said. “We are delighted to have Esther Angert join...

  • Biological and Environmental Engineering
  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
  • Fish
Looking down on someone as they eat ice cream

News

‘Apple Commons’ licks ice cream contest competition
Your mind wanders, enjoying a dreamy vanilla base that features apple, cinnamon, maple and tiny chunks of graham cracker. It’s just like fresh, warm apple pie à la mode – only everything is frozen. You’re going to need a bigger waffle cone. In...
  • Food Science
  • Food
  • Dairy
Male graduate student and female technician work in an orchard.

News

New committee drives diversity, equity and inclusion at Cornell AgriTech
At Cornell AgriTech, CALS’ preeminent center for agriculture and food research in Geneva, New York, the success of research and extension activities are also shaped by a diversity of faculty, staff and students. Their unique perspectives enable...
  • Cornell AgriTech
  • School of Integrative Plant Science

News

Migrations initiative wins $5M Mellon grant for racial justice

Migrations: A Global Grand Challenge, part of Global Cornell, has won a three-year, $5 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s Just Futures Initiative that will bring together scholars across the university and beyond to study the links between racism, dispossession and migration.

  • American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program
  • Department of Global Development
  • Global Development
Abstract art by KAR Robison

News

Community remembers undergraduate student, artist and activist KAR Robison
Robison originally attended Baylor University, where they took courses in pre-medicine, philosophy and African studies. They went on to work in the field of sustainable food marketing in both San Diego and New York City for nearly 20 years...
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Soil and Crop Sciences Section
  • Natural Resources and the Environment

News

"Summit on Entrepreneurship and Equity" receives Belonging at Cornell innovation grant

As part of its mission to make Cornell a more diverse and inclusive environment for faculty, staff and students, the Presidential Advisors on Diversity and Equity (PADE) have awarded three Belonging at Cornell innovation grants of $15,000 apiece...

  • Behavior
A fish underwater

News

DNA in water used to uncover genes of invasive fish
In a proof-of-principle study, Cornell researchers describe a new technique in which they analyzed environmental DNA – or eDNA – from water samples in Cayuga Lake to gather nuanced information about the presence of invasive fish.
  • Atkinson Center
  • Natural Resources and the Environment
  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology