Cornell seal
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

Illustration of David and Goliath

News

CALS Dean Ben Houlton may have a billion-ton solution to climate change
Benjamin Z. Houlton, Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell, is on a mission to use science to find solutions to climate change. And, like David in the epic battle against Goliath, Houlton is using rocks.
  • Health + Nutrition
  • Soil
  • Environment
a female equestrian jumps a white horse over a race fence

Spotlight

Animal Science alum Laura Rubinate ‘01’s involvement with equestrian comes full circle
Animal Science alumna, Laura Rubinate '01, talks about her experience on the equestrian team, medical school and wanting to give back to Big Red athletics.
  • Animal Science
  • Animals
A brown bird outside with it's beak open

News

Male lyrebirds snare mates with ‘acoustic illusion’
“The male superb lyrebird creates a remarkable acoustic illusion,” said Anastasia Dalziell, a Cornell Lab of Ornithology associate and recent Lab Rose Postdoctoral Fellow, now at the University of Wollongong, Australia, and first author of “Male...
  • Lab of Ornithology
  • Animals
  • Environment

News

Robert Seaney, forage management expert, dies at 93

“Dr. Seaney was an excellent communicator and was widely respected by colleagues, extension agents and farmers,” said Danny Fox, professor emeritus of animal science. “Through his research and extension program, he had a large impact on...

  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Soil and Crop Sciences Section
  • Soil
A car and a truck driving along a very snowy road

News

NSF challenges Cornell to tame winter, natural disasters
Max Zhang, professor in Cornell’s Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, will lead the federally funded effort this spring. The work is part of the new Civic Innovation Challenge, announced Feb. 17, an $11 million effort led by...
  • Cornell Atkinson
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • Natural Resources and the Environment Section

News

Search committee set for policy school’s founding dean

A year after the provost announced plans to create a School of Public Policy, following a multiyear review of how to elevate Cornell’s excellence and prominence in the social sciences, the search for its first dean is underway.

  • Cornell Atkinson
  • Global Development Section
  • Applied Economics
a laptop sits on a table with a zoom window open

News

Wildlife regulation, ‘one health’ keys to avert more pandemics
Future pandemics can be avoided if the world’s governments eliminate unnecessary wildlife trade and adopt holistic approaches, according to experts at a Feb. 23 virtual conference.
  • Cornell Atkinson
  • Disease
  • Biology
A grey bearded seal laying on a sheet of ice in the middle of water

News

Bearded seals are loud – but not loud enough
These elaborate vocalizations are essential for bearded seal reproduction, and have to be loud enough to be heard over the cacophony of their equally loud brethren . But in the rapidly changing Arctic soundscape, where noise from industrial...
  • Lab of Ornithology
  • Animals
  • Environment
Two cows standing in a barn staring at the camera

News

USDA grant seeks to enhance milk production and cow health
Joseph McFadden, associate professor of animal science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will use the funds to identify mechanisms that control insulin resistance in lactating cows. Under normal circumstances, insulin resistance...
  • Animal Science
  • Agriculture
  • Dairy
Four girls trek across the desert in Morocco on camels

Field Note

Jessica Snyder ’20: Preparing for a career in international development

  • Global Development Section
  • Global Development
Dean Ben Houlton leaning on a fence with cattle in the background

Multimedia

News

Leading Through Extension with Humility and Responsibility
In this episode of “ Extension Out Loud,” a podcast by Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE), Benjamin Houlton, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, shares his journey and his vision for carrying forth Cornell...
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension
  • Global Development Section
  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Smokey pollution billowing up from smoke stacks above trees

News

Environmental policies not always bad for business, study finds
The analysis found that, contrary to conventional wisdom, market-based or incentive-based policies may actually benefit regulated firms in the traditional and “green” energy sectors, by spurring innovation and improvements in production...
  • Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
  • Applied Economics
  • Behavior
A man with short brown hair sitting in a chair in an office

News

$1.3M funds research for a kinder, more inclusive internet
The Citizens and Technology (CAT) Lab, led by J. Nathan Matias, assistant professor of communication in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, recently received nearly $1.3 million in grants to further its citizen science studies on the effects of digital technology on society.
  • Department of Communication
  • Behavior
  • Communication
Two hands wearing blue gloves conducting research at a lab bench with tubes

News

‘Jumping genes’ repeatedly form new genes over evolution
A long-proposed mechanism for creating genes, called exon shuffling, works by shuffling functional blocks of DNA sequences into new genes that express proteins. A study, “ Recurrent Evolution of Vertebrate Transcription Factors by Transposase...
  • Molecular Biology and Genetics
  • Biology
  • Evolution
A glass of water and pills

News

Antibiotic tolerance study paves way for new treatments
Antibiotic tolerance is the ability of bacteria to survive exposure to antibiotics, in contrast to antibiotic resistance, when bacteria actually grow in the presence of antibiotics. Tolerant bacteria can lead to infections that persist after...
  • Microbiology
  • Health + Nutrition
  • Disease
Jaron Porciello

News

Porciello to join journal editorial committee at Data & Policy
Data & Policy aims to promote a new theory of policy-data interactions by publishing work that considers systems of policy and data and how they relate to each other, according to the journal. The peer-reviewed journal accepts contributions from...
  • Global Development Section
  • Agriculture
  • Digital Agriculture
Graduate student works with middle school students.

Field Note

Brennan Hyden: Exploring willow’s potential as a sustainable bioenergy crop
Brennan Hyden is a Ph.D. candidate working in the lab of Larry Smart , professor of horticulture at Cornell AgriTech , where his work focuses on using willow as a sustainable bioenergy crop. For his excellence in bioenergy research, Hyden was...
  • Cornell AgriTech
  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Horticulture Section
A drawing of an outline of New York state with a plant and shield on a blue background

Field Note

New year, new look: Excited to unveil LeadNY’s new branding!

A man sitting at a table and gesturing at something out of frame. Other people are sitting at the table with him

News

Leaders valued over managers, regardless of fit
Romanticization of leadership over time has put decision-makers at risk of overvaluing prototypical leaders – who are seen as inspiring and motivating – even in situations calling for prototypical management skills such as hiring, supervising...
  • Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
  • Behavior

News

Communication Professor Sahara Byrne to join CALS senior leadership team

“I am honored to serve the legacy of CALS in this capacity,” Byrne said. “CALS is a college focused on collaborative and innovative solutions to the most critical issues facing our planet and our place as humans thriving upon it. ” In this new...

  • School of Integrative Plant Science
  • Plant Breeding and Genetics Section
  • Department of Communication