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CALS and NYS leaders cut the ribbon on a new research facility

News

New lab opens at Cornell for invasive species research
For the last seven decades, Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) has been leading the fight against nematodes—invasive, microscopic worms that can destroy seasons’ worth of crops. However, researchers had been...
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Agriculture
  • Organisms
Silverside fish swim in the ocean.

News

Genomic data show how fish fare in evolutionary rapids
Over recent decades, many commercially harvested fish have grown slower and matured earlier, which can translate into lower yields and a reduced resilience to overexploitation. Scientists have long suspected that rapid evolutionary change in...
  • Natural Resources and the Environment Section
  • Animals
  • Genomics

News

Groundwater policies fire up air pollution in northwest India

A new study reveals how water-use policies require farmers to transplant rice later in the year, which in turn delays harvests and concentrates agricultural burnings of crop residues in November, a month when breezes stagnate, leading to...

  • Soil and Crop Sciences Section
  • Agriculture
  • Health + Nutrition
Student working in a lab

News

CALS signs new admissions agreement with Binghamton University
“We’re thrilled to have developed this articulation agreement with Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences,” said School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Founding Dean Gloria Meredith. “This agreement builds on the...
A smiling woman holds an apple next to more apples piled on a table

News

Apple breeder and geneticist Susan Brown awarded for distinguished contributions in horticulture
In New York, apples are big business: the state’s 600 commercial growers produce an average of 30 million bushels annually, making it the second-largest apple producer in the U.S. But growing apples isn’t easy, and much has changed since Cornell...
  • Cornell AgriTech
  • Horticulture Section
  • Plants
Two women stand on either side of a poster detailing climate change research

News

Cornell's Eiseman counsels Scotland on climate policy support
ClimateXChange, Scotland’s research center that connects climate change research to policy, enlisted Danielle Eiseman, Cornell visiting lecturer in communication, and Iain Black, professor of sustainable consumption at the University of Stirling...
  • Department of Communication
  • Climate Change
A man sits next to a counter with glass jars on it

News

For salmonella detection, genomic tool emerges as a key
A paper published in the journal Frontiers in Microbiology on July 12 – co-authored by researchers from Cornell and the Mars Global Food Safety Center (GFSC), Beijing – illuminates breakthroughs. “Salmonella is the foodborne pathogen with the...
  • Food Science
  • Global Development
Two potted plants sit side-by-side, the left plant has withered leaves

News

Worm pheromones protect major crops, BTI scientists find
As described in research published in May in the Journal of Phytopathology, these compounds helped protect major crops from various pathogens, and have the potential to save billions of dollars and increase global agricultural sustainability...
  • Boyce Thompson Institute
  • Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section
  • Plants
In a press room, a man in a suit signs a bill while others stand behind him watching and clapping

News

Howarth advised on methane portions of NY's new climate law
“It’s the most progressive legislation designed to avert climate change that any state has put out there,” said Howarth, the David R. Atkinson Professor of Ecology and Environmental Biology. The New York State Senate and the Assembly passed the...
  • Horticulture Section
  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
  • Energy
Four people sit on a panel, the man holds the microphone

News

Workshop fuels discussion about biochar, NYS climate goals
As Gov. Andrew Cuomo was preparing to sign the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act into law, which he did July 18, researchers, policymakers and industry members gathered at Cornell’s pyrolysis facility in Leland Laboratory to...
  • Cornell Atkinson
  • Cornell AgriTech
  • Soil and Crop Sciences Section
A drone appears in front of four male researchers

News

By land and air, students to detect crop diseases with tech
Northern leaf blight – a devastating fungal disease of maize – often begins where farmers can’t easily detect it, far beneath the plants’ dense canopy. But a ground rover exploring the plants from below, in communication with an airborne drone...
  • Plant Breeding and Genetics Section
  • Agriculture
  • Digital Agriculture
A man examines broccoli growing in a field and takes notes on a clipboard

News

New software helps plant breeders bring out their best
Broccoli is in the eye of the beholder. A head of broccoli that might appeal to one person – perhaps because of its deep green color – may leave another cold, due to an asymmetrical shape or too-large buds. Cornell researchers participating in...
  • Faculty
  • Cornell AgriTech
  • Plants
Close up of a bug eating a cabbage looper larvae on a cabbage plant

News

Do ladybugs help your garden grow? Depends on surroundings
When cabbage looper moth larvae infest a field, sustainable growers will often try to control the pests by releasing large numbers of predators, such as ladybugs. That way they can avoid spraying expensive and environmentally harmful...
  • Cornell AgriTech
  • Department of Entomology
  • Plants
Five students squat by a plastic kiddie pool holding a giant fish

News

Nice catch: Cornell scientists net 139-pound Oneida Lake sturgeon
In May and June during an annual lakewide survey, the researchers capture sturgeon for a census of living creatures living in the lake. This sturgeon, caught June 19, measured 72.5 inches and was estimated to be 20 years old. Lake sturgeon once...
  • Current Undergraduate Student
  • Biological Field Station
  • Natural Resources and the Environment Section
A student uses tweezers to examine a plant in a glass jar under a chemical hood

News

CALS signs new admissions agreement with Binghamton University
This is a 3 + 4 program that will allow qualified Cornell students to complete their Bachelor of Science Degree in Plant Sciences through coursework taken in their first professional year at Binghamton. “We’re thrilled to have developed this...
  • Current Undergraduate Student
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
A woman stands in a garden and smiles

News

Specht named new dean for diversity and inclusion at College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
As a member of the CALS senior leadership team and the college’s key diversity officer, Specht will lead college-wide diversity initiatives. These efforts include recruiting and hiring diverse faculty, supporting scholarship, and developing...
  • Faculty
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
A woman speaks from behind a podium

News

CALS faculty among recipients of White House early career awards
The White House has recognized four Cornell faculty members – Thomas Hartman, Jenny Kao-Kniffin, Kin Fai Mak and Rebecca Slayton – with prestigious 2019 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The awards were...
  • Horticulture Section
  • Soil
  • Ecosystems

News

Designer plants one step closer to growing low-cost medical, industrial proteins

Imagine if plants could be engineered to produce vaccines, pharmaceuticals, proteins and enzymes for medical, agricultural and industrial applications at a fraction of their current cost. A new Cornell-led study describes a major advancement in...

  • Molecular Biology and Genetics
  • Biological and Environmental Engineering
  • Medicine
Female student examines tall, blossoming plants

News

Designer plants one step closer to growing low-cost medical, industrial proteins
The market for such biologically derived proteins is forecast to reach $300 billion in the near future. Industrial enzymes and other proteins are currently made in large, expensive fermenting reactors, but making them in plants grown outdoors...
  • Molecular Biology and Genetics
  • Biological and Environmental Engineering
  • Medicine

News

Farmworker initiatives earn community engagement honor

Given by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), the award recognizes extraordinary community outreach initiatives by its member universities. Cornell was recognized for its interdisciplinary farmworker research and...

  • Agriculture