PMB Professor Tom Bruns and grad student Cat Adams were quoted in this KQED Science article on death cap mushrooms. Bruns noted that no one really knows why these mushrooms are so poisonous, and Adams posits that death cap mushrooms are poisonous to protect itself from other deadly fungi.
Humiston on mission to promote agricultural research: scientific literacy a focus of new UCANR vice president
Western Farm Press | February 17, 2016
ESPM alum Glenda Humiston (Ph.D '09), who leads the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR), wants to improve scientific literacy among public and policy makers. By training farm advisors and other experts to communicate topics to the public, UCANR will better promote its world-class agricultural research.
The Scientific American | February 16, 2016
ESPM Professor Robert Lane is quoted in this article in The Scientific American about a newly identified bacteria species that could potentially cause Lyme disease. Lane comments that merely identifying a tick with a specific bacteria strain isn't enough, that "we have to go within the species itself and break it down further...to disentangle the transmission cycles in nature."
Variation of energy and carbon fluxes from a restored temperate freshwater wetland and implications for carbon market verification protocols
Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences | February 16, 2016
ESPM professor Dennis Baldocchi and his team of students and researchers published an article in the Journal of Geophysical Research on restored wetlands. Wetlands are being used as biological carbon seqestration proojects for greenhouse gas reduction programs. The study used methane fluxes to quantify the annual atmospheric carbon mass balance and its influence on global warming potential.
California magazine | February 11, 2016
ESPM alum Stephanie Lepp (MS '08) is featured in this California magazine article about her podcast Reckonings, which consists of interviews between Lepp and people who want to make amends for past misdeeds and mistakes. Lepp, who currently works as a corporate consultant in her field, sees Reckonings as a compelling and public audio experience around personal insights that lead to transformation.
90.3kazu, NPR for Monterey, Salinas, & Santa Cruz | February 11, 2016
PMB Professor Tom Bruns is quoted in this article about the Santa Cruz Mycoflora Project, an online database of all mushroom species in the county. Bruns commented that this basic research is extremely important because fungi research has such great gaps that it's difficult to know the useful potential of many species.
Nature World News | February 09, 2016
ESPM Professor Tsutsui's research on recognition behaviors in Formica ants is featured in this article. Enslaved Formica worker ants are more genetically and chemically diverse and less aggressive towards non-nest mates than free-living Formica ant colonies, according to his new study published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE. [JH: Note 2 URLS, 2nd redirects to research article --->]
California magazine | February 09, 2016
ARE alum Doug Parker (Ph.D. '90) is featured in this California magazine article about how spring's seemingly early onset does not mean El Nino is over. Emphasizing the need for more precipitation, Parker stresses the need for a new water ethic and increased groundwater management. Parker, currently director of the California Institute for Water Resources, is a former Berkeley UCCE specialist.
The Guardian (US ed) | February 02, 2016
ESPM Professor Dara O'Rourke, a leading expert on global supply chains, will be leading Amazon's new Sustainability Science team as a senior principal scientist. Amazon has never published a sustainability report, but expects its sustainability operation to grow significantly this year.