Back

Discover CALS

See how our current work and research is bringing new thinking and new solutions to some of today's biggest challenges.

Search for News & Stories

A fish underwater

News

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.
  • Cornell Atkinson
  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
  • Natural Resources and the Environment Section
three male researchers look at maize genes on a computer screen

News

A Cornell research team led by Michael Scanlon, professor of plant biology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ School of Integrative Plant Science, recently reported new insights into the patterns of gene expression in maize stem...
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Plant Biology Section
  • Agriculture
A pink starfish being held by a black gloved hand

News

New Cornell-led research suggests that starfish, victims of sea star wasting disease (SSWD), may actually be in respiratory distress – literally “drowning” in their own environment – as elevated microbial activity derived from nearby organic...
  • Microbiology
  • Fish
  • Health + Nutrition
Two men stand on stage at a conference

News

Halomine, a Cornell-based startup developing cutting-edge technologies for the sanitation of food processing equipment, has been awarded $600,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA)...
  • Biological and Environmental Engineering
  • Health + Nutrition
  • Biology

News

Researchers posing those questions were among more than 20 awarded grants last fall by the Cornell Center for Social Sciences (CCSS). In total, two dozen projects led by scholars spanning 11 colleges and schools – on diverse topics ranging from...

  • Global Development Section
  • Nutritional Sciences
  • Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management

News

A new study of the common fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) has identified a protein in the male’s seminal fluid that triggers the female’s midgut to expand after mating. This widening and lengthening of the gut likely prepares the female for...

  • Biology
  • Entomology
  • Nature
Evidence of the emerald ash borer on a light brown piece of wood being held by someone

News

The university will be sending letters in the coming weeks to notify local municipalities and neighbors of the ash abatements. The latest removals are part of phases 2 and 3 of Cornell’s Emerald Ash Borer Action Plan to manage thousands of on-...
  • Arnot Teaching and Research Forest
  • Cornell Botanic Gardens
Smiling woman holds apple.

News

Brown leads the oldest apple breeding program in the United States, located at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva, New York, part of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Her work supports the state’s robust apple industry — valued at $262...
  • Cornell AgriTech
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Horticulture Section
A male stands next to a tractor that is being driven through a field of short crops

News

Benjamin Z. Houlton, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, joined a group of experts working with the Energy Futures Initiative (EFI) to identify key pathways for terrestrial carbon dioxide removal that merit...
  • Global Development Section
  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
  • Agriculture
A black and white microscope image of soil

News

Improving such understanding may help researchers develop strategies for sequestering more carbon in soil, thereby keeping it out of the atmosphere where it combines with oxygen and acts as a greenhouse gas. A new study describes a breakthrough...
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Soil and Crop Sciences Section
  • Soil
Two farmers holding produce in a greenhouse

News

As hunger rose in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Rick and Laura Pedersen responded by sharing the bounty of their farm with their local food bank in upstate New York. “It’s distressing to think about that many people in our community...
  • Cornell AgriTech
  • Global Development Section
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
Two men stand on a construction scaffold flying a purple flag

News

Indigenous people began ironworking in the 19th century, when they were hired to build railroad bridges in Canada. They helped craft the New York City skyline, working on projects including the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building and...
  • American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program
  • Communication
  • Land
Illustration of the world with icons and lines connecting continents

News

An international community of hunger fighters called the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative ( BGRI) joined forces starting in 2005 to confront climate change and diseases that threatened wheat — one of the world’s most important crops. For 15 years...
  • Global Development Section
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Plant Breeding and Genetics Section
a field of malting barley growing

News

Formerly called CU-31, the barley got its name as a result of a contest co-hosted this fall by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. Richard Ball, commissioner of Ag and...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Plant Breeding and Genetics Section
A hand touches cassava stacked in basket

News

Five new cassava varieties developed with support from NextGen Cassava have been approved for release in Nigeria. These next generation varieties deliver promising options for smallholder farmers in resisting cassava diseases and marketing their...
  • Global Development Section
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Plant Breeding and Genetics Section
A student sitting at a desk working on a computer

News

Giving students the tools to respond positively to adversity is a critical part of preparing them for their future careers, and is one of the main missions of the Center for Teaching Innovation (CTI). Each year, CTI grants funding through the...
  • Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
  • Landscape Architecture
Hands hold a pile of biochar

News

  • Global Development Section
  • Natural Resources
  • Food
Linda McCandless holds a camera in the mountains of Nepal

News

Linda McCandless ‘74, an intrepid journalist and champion for under-told stories around the world, received the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative’s (BGRI) Norman E. Borlaug Lifetime Achievement Award honoring her career advocating for science and smallholder farmers.
  • Cornell AgriTech
  • Global Development Section
  • Global Development
Microbes sitting on top of blue, orange and yellow colored squares

News

The key: Let bioengineered microbes do all the work. Buz Barstow, assistant professor of biological and environmental engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and doctoral candidate Farshid Salimijazi have assembled...
  • Cornell Atkinson
  • Biological and Environmental Engineering
  • Microbial biology
a hand holds a clump of soil

News

To fill that research gap, a team of soil scientists in Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), conducted a state-funded project to characterize soil health across New York state agricultural lands. Published in...
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Horticulture Section
  • Soil and Crop Sciences Section