UNH Research 2012 - Agriculture & Biosciences
        A digest of the year’s research news from the University of New Hampshire | ||||||
| Agriculture & Biosciences | |||||
A Diva in the Dairy "I’ve delivered calves in high heels,” says Rosie Cabral, a Ph.D. student at UNH interested in improving newborn calf immunity to positively impact the lifetime production of dairy herds. In addition to working at UNH’s Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center, Cabral travels to regional operations to find out what farmers need to know in order to raise the healthiest and most productive milking cows. |
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A Fertile Mind
http://colsa.unh.edu/article/fall-2012/fertile-mind
http://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2012/10/fertile-mind
Postdoctoral researcher Lisa Tiemann will collaborate with soil biogeochemist Stuart Grandy and geographer Joel Hartter as she embarks on a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded, multidisciplinary project that examines environmental and socioeconomic factors in the loss of soil fertility in Uganda.
Related Research Areas: Health, Behavioral & Social Sciences; Sustainability & the Environment
A Mentor in the Lab
http://colsa.unh.edu/article/spring-2012/mentor-lab
Sean Santos ’13 traveled to France to study with researcher David Cox ’98 at Inserm’s Cancer Research Center of Lyon. While there, Santos used cutting-edge molecular genetic epidemiology techniques to study bone cancer and, in his words, experienced “practical application of some of the genetics I’ve learned about.”
Related Research Areas: Health, Behavioral & Social Sciences
| Birds of a Feather: Memory and the Clark's Nutcracker
Psychology graduate student Jan Tornick studies Clark’s nutcrackers, a crow family species, to answer a question of great interest to humans: Do birds of a feather who flock together develop more complex cognitive behaviors than solitary birds? Tornick reminds us that “to shed light on the differences and similarities between the human and the non-human mind, it is important to study a wide variety of species” and “discover what…they might know.” Related Research Areas: Health, Behavioral & Social Sciences |
Breeding a Better Berry For the last six years, Tom Davis, professor of plant biology and genetics [pictured at right with Ph.D. student Lise Mahooney], has been immersed in multi-institutional research on the strawberry genome. Davis and his team study this popular fruit with the goal of adding sophisticated DNA fingerprinting and computational methods to the plant breeder’s toolbox. |  |
Change Globally, React Locally: UNH Researchers Find African Farmers Need Better Climate Change Data to Improve Farming Practices
http://www.unh.edu/news/cj_nr/2012/mar/lw14climate.cfm
Researchers from UNH have found that many African farmers perceive changes in climate and rainfall inaccurately when compared with scientific data, highlighting the need for better climate information to help them improve farming practices.
Related Research Areas: Health, Behavioral & Social Sciences; Sustainability & the Environment
Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center
http://colsa.unh.edu/article/fall-2012/fairchild-dairy-teaching-and-research-center
UNH’s Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center is a hub of educational and research activity, with nearly 2000 visitors throughout the year. Ongoing research addresses topics in dairy nutrition, reproduction, and management.
His Passion for "Pastoralism" Helps Feed a Hungry Planet
http://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2012/03/his-passion-pastoralism-helps-feed-hungry-planet
In an inspiring audio slideshow, Drew Conroy, professor of applied animal science at the Thompson School of Applied Science, explains how he uses the concept of pastoralism to help people sustainably feed themselves the world over, from Africa to New Hampshire.
Related Research Areas: Health, Behavioral & Social Sciences; Sustainability & the Environment
Holy Cow! Professor of Animal and Nutritional Sciences Joanne Curran-Celentano [far left in picture] and her students are working on the Carotenoid Project, a four-year collaboration with colleagues in plant biology, examining how foods rich in carotenoids could help protect against macular degeneration. Studying milk and cheese at UNH’s organic dairy research facility, Curran-Celentano’s team is “curious about the connection between grasses that are rich in carotenoids and what's coming through in the milk." Related Research Areas: Health, Behavioral & Social Sciences |  |
Hut, Hut, Hike! A Team of Salamanders Tackle the Ecosystem
http://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2012/08/hut-hut-hike-team-salamanders-tackle-ecosystem
Postdoctoral researcher Dan Hocking '03, '12G has been studying red-backed salamanders for the past eight years, and has only seen their eggs in the late stages of development a handful of times—until recently. UNH’s state-of-the-art research and teaching facility, Kingman Farm, has allowed him unprecedented access to red-backed salamanders and a giant step forward in understanding how these creatures affect their ecosystem.
| Macfarlane Greenhouse Research is underway in the Macfarlane Greenhouse on a wide range of species and varieties of plants, including pumpkins, cucurbits, tomatoes, strawberries, barberries, kiwi, tulips, poinsettias, Cyclamen, Chrysanthemum, and Gerbera. Other projects are studying fertilizer optimization, managing pests, and the influence of hybrid striped Related Research Areas: Sustainability & the Environment |
Microbial Communities Shifted Dramatically After Deepwater Horizon Spill
http://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2012/06/microbial-communities-shifted-dramatically-after-deepwater-horizon-spill
UNH’s Hubbard Center for Genome Studies (HCGS) and partners have found that communities of microbial organisms on beaches along the Gulf of Mexico changed significantly following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in April 2010. Their findings point to the possibility of lingering but hidden effects of the spill, which is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry.
Related Research Areas: Sustainability & the Environment
NH Farm to School Report: More Farms Bringing Greater Variety to NH Schools
http://www.unh.edu/campusjournal/2012/09/nh-farm-school-report-more-farms-bringing-greater-variety-nh-schools
A recent survey by the New Hampshire Farm to School Program found that the number of New Hampshire farmers providing food to local schools has tripled in the past three years, and the variety of foods offered by the schools has increased.
Related Research Areas: Health, Behavioral & Social Sciences
No Genome is an Island
http://colsa.unh.edu/article/spring-2012/no-genome-island
Scientific advances in genomics are providing rapidly increasing positive effects, from taking the guesswork out of determining an individual’s reaction to medication to assessing risk for Alzheimer’s disease and other illnesses. Director Kelley Thomas and other faculty from a variety of disciplines are drawing upon the resources of UNH’s Hubbard Center for Genome Studies to revolutionize their fields.
Related Research Areas: Health, Behavioral & Social Sciences
Organic Dairy Research Farm The Organic Dairy Research Farm provides an opportunity to conduct studies with important applications for farmers and producers in the region. Current research includes investigations of aerobic digestion of spent bedding, manure, and waste hay to make high-grade compost and capture heat; use of the Organic Dairy Research Farm as a model system for measuring greenhouse gases, crop productivity, soil nutrient cycling, and manure management; and the development of approaches for on-farm supplemental grain and silage production with minimal environmental impact. Related Research Areas: Sustainability & the Environment | |
Quite a Spread
http://colsa.unh.edu/article/fall-2012/quite-spread
The New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station (NHAES) and the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture (COLSA) recently received a $550,000 gift to support the building of a composting research facility at the Organic Dairy Research Farm that will produce high-level compost and capture heat, thereby reducing the use of fossil fuels on the farm.
Related Research Areas: Sustainability & the Environment
Scientists and Students Track Bacteria in the Water and Food Web
http://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2012/11/scientists-and-students-track-bacteria-water-and-food-web
Using high tech probes, College of Life Sciences and Agriculture (COLSA) biologist Jim Haney and his team of student researchers have been studying the effect of cyanobacteria on water and the food web for the past decade. Haney is interested in how these bacteria contribute to the ecosystem, and in whether and how cyanobacteria toxins migrate from water bodies into people.
Related Research Areas: Sustainability & the Environment
Professor emeritus Ed Tillinghast has spent his career studying arachnids, using |  | ||
Strawberry Fields...for Now
http://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2012/06/strawberry-fieldsfor-now
Jenny Jing ’13 and doctoral student Lise Mahoney are working in the lab of Professor Tom Davis, a leading strawberry genetics researcher, to measure anthocyanins (the pigments that give strawberries and other fruits and vegetables their red color) in 41 wild and cultivated strawberry types. Part of the major RosBREED strawberry-breeding project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Jing’s work will contribute to helping breeders build a better berry.
Related Research Areas: Sustainability & the Environment
Summer Research Award Aids in Archaeological Study of Cheese
http://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2012/06/summer-research-award-aids-archaeological-study-cheese
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) recipient Hillary Christopher '13 traveled to Romania to study the origins and methods of cheese production in Neolithic Europe. Her goal? “Trying to figure out how this food originated in the first place.”
Related Research Areas: Health, Behavioral & Social Sciences
| The Matchmaker Brent Loy has introduced hundreds of plants to their perfect mates – and the birds and the bees had nothing to do with it. UNH’s “plant guy,” a classically trained plant geneticist, focuses on vine crops in the gourd family, called Cucurbitaceae, and has developed hundreds of successful cultivars, more than 50 of which have become seed varieties for commercial sale. |
| UNH Professors Named American Association for Advancement of Science Fellows Stacia Sower [pictured left], professor of biochemistry and director of UNH's Center for Molecular and Comparative Endocrinology (CME) , and Nathan Schwadron [pictured right], associate professor of physics at the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space (EOS), have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as an AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers for scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. Related Research Areas: Engineering & Physical Sciences; Space Science |
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William Matern – Using Mathematics to Gain Insights into Biology: William Matern '12 assists in mathematical biology research performed by Greg Chini, Related Research Areas: Engineering & Physical Sciences
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A mathematical diagram |
Woodman Farm
http://colsa.unh.edu/article/fall-2012/woodman-farm
Research taking place at the Woodman Farm in 2012 included studies of bitter rot and apple scab, meadow wildflowers, pollinators, insect monitoring, nursery production, off-season crops of pussy willows and red-stemmed dogwoods, and interactions among climate, land use, and ecosystems in New Hampshire.
Related Research Areas: Sustainability & the Environment
