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Wednesday, October 24 2012

  • Robin Wright will speak on Middle Eastern upheaval in Nov. 1 talk

    Journalist and foreign policy analyst Robin Wright will discuss trends and policy in the Arab world during "Rock the Casbah: Rage and Rebellion Across the Islamic World" at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, in the Memorial Union Great Hall. As a United States Institute for Peace Senior Fellow and a Wilson Center Distinguished Scholar, Wright's projects explore new trends in the Islamic world that will be a major policy challenge for the United States and the West. As a journalist, she has reported from more than 140 countries on six continents for The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Sunday Times of London, CBS News and The Christian Science Monitor. Wright's talk, which is part of the university's World Affairs Series, is free and open to the public.

  • Iowa State researchers double down on heat to break up cellulose, produce fuels and power

    Iowa State University engineers and researchers have built and are testing a bio-oil gasifier. It will allow them to combine two thermochemical technologies to produce the next generation of fuels from renewable sources such as corn stalks and wood chips.

  • ISU study: Aphid attacks weaken genetic defenses in soybeans, may open door for other pests

    Aphids possess a unique ability to block the genetic defense response of soybeans and may open the door for other pests to do even more damage to crops, according to a recent study by researchers at Iowa State University. The paper found that aphids essentially can short-circuit the hormonal defense mechanism in soybeans meant to combat insect infestations, making it easier for other pests, such as the soybean cyst nematode, to colonize the plant as well.

  • Evolving microbes help Iowa State engineers turn bio-oil into advanced biofuels

    A research team led by Iowa State University's Laura Jarboe is working to develop hungry, robust microbes that can ferment biofuels from the bio-oil produced by rapidly heating biomass such as corn stalks and sawdust. It's all part of Iowa State's efforts to combine two conversion paths -- thermochemical and biochemical -- to find efficient ways to produce renewable fuels and chemicals.

  • Swine Medicine Education Center receives federal grant to advance mission

    A federal grant announced this week will help to propel Iowa State University’s Swine Medicine Education Center (SMEC) from a regional presence to a national leader that will attract veterinary students from across the country. The three-year, $713,847 Higher Education Challenge Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will transform SMEC into a national center of excellence and a resource for providing unparalleled hands-on opportunities to veterinary students who want to specialize in swine medicine.

  • Iowa State researchers developing ‘BIGDATA’ toolbox to help genome researchers

    The latest DNA sequencing technology is burying researchers in trillions of bytes of data. Iowa State's Srinivas Aluru is leading a team of researchers who will develop high performance computing tools to help researchers analyze all that data. The work is supported by a $2 million grant from the BIGDATA program of the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

  • ISU researchers advancing gene targeting techniques in new paper published in Nature

    Iowa State University researchers are helping to advance new techniques that allow scientists to site-specifically mutate and edit the genes of living organisms. The innovation could have sweeping applications in agriculture and the study of human disease.

  • Iowa State researchers study clam shells for clues to the Atlantic’s climate history

    Iowa State University's Alan Wanamaker studies the growth increments in clam shells to learn about past ocean temperatures, growing conditions and circulation patterns. Wanamaker says a better understanding of the ocean's past can help researchers understand today's climate trends and changes.

  • NSF adds three years, $12 million to ISU-based Center for Biorenewable Chemicals

    The National Science Foundation (NSF) has added $12 million and another three years of support to the NSF Engineering Research Center for Biorenewable Chemicals based at Iowa State University. The continuing support brings federal investment in the center up to $30.5 million over eight years. The center's vision is to transform the industrial chemical industry from one based on petroleum to one based on biorenewable resources.