Cover Crop Challenge lets students compete and grow

Cornell AES manages farms and greenhouses that support research but are also unique teaching resources for over 40 courses. This is the sixth story in a series about on-farm teaching; in Cover Crops in Agroecosystems, students explore the uses of cover crops and assess their benefits.

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Evolution of pugs and Persians converges on cuteness

Humans have bred pug dogs and Persian cats to evolve with very similar skulls and “smushed” faces, so they’re more similar to each other than they are to most other dogs or cats.  

CROPPS hackathon ushers in new era of plant communication

As part of the “CROPPS-in-a-Box” hackathon — an intensive, weeklong event hosted by the Center for Research on Programmable Plant Systems — students in engineering, computer science and plant biology collaborated to build a working prototype that could detect when a plant is in distress.

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Mayflies accumulate more mercury when selenium is added to polluted water

Researchers found that at low levels of mercury, selenium additions did seem to help mayfly larva from accumulating mercury. But at high mercury levels – the condition in which environmental remediation is most needed – selenium actually made mercury accumulation worse.

Modeling tool protects worker health and food chain security

Researchers have created a computer model that can help produce farms and food processing facilities control COVID-19 outbreaks, keeping workers safe and the food chain secure.

Cornell incubators propel startups toward real-world impact

Cornell’s incubator Class of 2025, composed of startups Llume, Meiogenix and TETmedical, is advancing innovations in human performance monitoring, non-GMO plant breeding and neurological critical care.

Century-old mystery of plant communication solved

Researchers at the Center for Research on Programmable Plant Systems have taken a major step toward advancing two-way communication with plants.

For advances in treating ACL injuries, look to dogs

The same protein accumulates in the joints of both dogs and humans after ACL injury, which means using dogs as a model for study may vastly accelerate advances in understanding of both ACL injury and post-traumatic osteoarthritis. 

Cornell research designs maple sugarbush agroforestry system

The Cornell Maple Program is growing 18 species of perennial fruit- and nut-bearing plants within a maple sugarbush forest. They want to help maple producers be more resilient to economic challenges and extreme weather events, and offer unique products like maple-elderberry wine and maple-hazelnut spreads.

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