Science
Archived Stories
From the Archives: Controversy and Innovation at the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory
April 29th, 2009In the years between World War II and the Vietnam War, when aeronautical research was at its peak, a popular watering hole for renowned scientists and engineers was the Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory (CAL) located in Buffalo, New York. CAL oversaw several divisions of research, ranging from aeronautics to military demands and automotive safety. At the time, innovation in aeronautical research was booming. Prof. Emeritus Franklin Moore, mechanical engineering, said, “It’s hard to convey how interesting, how exciting, and sort of romantic the idea of flight was in those days. Everybody thought aeronautics was the wave of the future, sort of like how computer science is the wave of the future today.” Moore was the Director of Aerosciences at CAL from 1955 to 1965, before joining the Cornell faculty. Read More
Profs. Discuss Outreach through 'Translational' Medicine
April 29th, 2009Dr. William Trochim, director of evaluation for the Weill Cornell Clinical and Translational Science Center, explained that the impetus for translational research is to develop clinical trials based on work done in the laboratory so as to benefit humanity in the long-run. Scientists cannot operate in a vacuum, he said. Trochim was joined a host of scientists from varied disciplines as he discussed translational medicine in Goldwin Smith Hall last week. Read More
The Scientist: Jeffrey Varner
April 29th, 2009“We study how networks break and how to break them.” Although he hopes to develop therapeutic treatments for cancer, Varner is also investigating other molecular signaling networks like blood clotting and the biochemical basis of pain. These two networks are of particular interest to the Department of Defense, which partially funds some of Jeffrey Varner’s research, in helping soldiers survive otherwise fatal wounds, such as extremity injuries. It also has civilian applications for afflictions like hemophilia and chronic pain. Read More
Earth Day Structure Raises Environmental Concerns
April 29th, 2009On Earth Day last week, campus environmental groups gathered on Ho Plaza to promote their cause. Part of the demonstration included a large arch constructed from 15 bags of plastic water bottles. The “Massive Water Bottle Structure” was part of the Cornell Society for Natural Resource Conservation’s student-run campaign, Back to the Tap. Members of SNRC, Sustainability Hub, Kyoto Now!, Roots and Shoots, Engineers for a Sustainable World and Eco House participated. An initiative originally started and successfully completed at Washington University, the campaign aims to dissuade students from buying bottled water, get campus stores to stop selling bottled water and improve the availability of tap water by increasing water fountain placement. Read More
Grey’s Writer Discusses Science Communication
April 29th, 2009Cornell welcomed Tony Phelan, the co-executive producer of Grey’s Anatomy to the university on Sunday, Apr. 26. Phelan, who has produced, written and directed a number of episodes, spoke to the crowd about how medicine is integrated into the popular television show. “All the medicine on the show actually exists,” Phelan said. Despite the unlikelihood of many of the medical cases used in the show, Phelan said, they are all based on real stories. Read More
Student Groups, Campus Research Promote Malaria Awareness
April 22nd, 2009In 2006, malaria caused approximately 880,000 deaths worldwide. According to the World Heath Organization, most of those who died were African children. Aid organizations are alarmed that such a preventable disease can still claim the lives of so many, but efforts to decrease the death toll are being made both internationally and on campus. Tomorrow, the Cornell malaria intervention organization Cover Africa will host a sleep-out on the Arts Quad to raise awareness and money for malaria prevention. The event is in honor of Malaria Awareness Day on Saturday April 25. Read More
The Scientist: George Hudler
April 22nd, 2009Thanks to Dr. Hudler and his team of plant pathologists, plant care professionals throughout the Northeast are now able to spot the black "bleeding" canker disease on European beech trees in its early stages and treat it, without using harmful or contaminating pesticides. But it wasn’t until he took a required course in forest pathology as a senior that the respected mycologist discovered his love for fungi. “Quite frankly, I didn’t even know what forest pathology was at the time,” he said. Read More
In Wired World, a Changing Role for Research Universities
April 22nd, 2009Since Cornell’s inception in 1865, society has changed dramatically. In a world of iPhones and Kindles, have the physical aspects of research universities become obsolete? “You can do a lot with online collaboration software of different sorts,” Asst. Prof. Rachel Prentice, science and technology studies, said. “The question is what are you losing when you lose that physical interaction.” Read More
Cornellians Past and Present Act on Earth Day
April 22nd, 2009Today marks the 39th annual celebration of Earth Day. It is a more obscure holiday, unheralded by commercial extravagance, but one that represents a turning point in national attitudes about the environment. While the world may have a long way to go towards achieving a sustainable future, Fil Eden, president of KyotoNow, said there is plenty to celebrate on Earth Day. “Since the passage of the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts of the ’70s, we have seen emissions [of certain pollutants] reduced by 90 percent.” Read More
New Technology Reveals Close Calls With Asteroids
April 15th, 2009At approximately 69 ft. to 154 ft. in diameter, Asteroid 2009 DD45 — which was sighted heading towards the Earth on Feb. 28 — posed a serious threat to the planet, and despite global surveillance, no one saw it coming. A similar asteroid destroyed 800 square miles of Siberian forest in the early twentieth century. Scientists hope new monitoring technology will keep future debris from sneaking up on our planet. Read More