Milk has a reputation for strengthening bones. In Malawi, the growing dairy industry is strengthening the livelihoods of small dairy farmers and the health of the country’s inhabitants.
In an effort to double the capacity of Malawi’s dairy value chain, MSU researchers led by Puliyur MohanKumar, professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, are applying successful outcomes from a similar MSU partnership project that helped transform India’s dairy industry. India, now the world’s top milk producer, shares similar environmental and cultural traits with Malawi. (more…)
A study led by a Michigan State University scholar questions whether higher education ranking systems are creating competition simply for the sake of competition at a time when universities are struggling financially.
Global rankings that emphasize science and technology research – such as the Academic Rankings of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University – have become increasingly popular and influential during the past decade, said Brendan Cantwell, lead author and assistant professor of educational administration. (more…)
From a sweet deal to the bitter end, there’s no accounting for taste. Descriptions of flavor are littered throughout our common sayings, and there’s a good reason for that. Food and flavor sensations are a key part of the human experience, and everyone knows what “bitter” feels and tastes like.
But what happens when a scientist tries to quantify taste? What, exactly, is flavor? What makes a food taste sweet, or salty, or even cooked? (more…)
Despite the wide-held perception that Christians have become more concerned about the environment, new research finds this so-called “greening of Christianity” is not evident among the religious rank-and-file.
According to the Michigan State University-led study, Christians report lower levels of environmental concern than non-Christians and non-religious individuals. More than 75 percent of Americans are affiliated with a Christian denomination.
“The results suggest this presumed greening of Christianity has not yet translated into a significant increase in pro-environmental attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of everyday Christians in the United States,” said Aaron M. McCright, associate professor in MSU’s Lyman Briggs College and Department of Sociology. (more…)
Active and former military among those most opposed to autonomous weaponry
AMHERST, Mass. – The results of a new survey by the University of Massachusetts Amherst show that a majority of Americans across the political spectrum oppose the outsourcing of lethal military and defense targeting decisions to machines. The opposition to autonomous weaponry is bipartisan, with the strongest opposition on the far left and far right, and among active and former members of the military.
A random sample of 1,000 Americans was asked how they felt about military technology that could take humans out of the loop altogether, dubbed “killer robots” by the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, an international coalition of non-governmental organizations launched in April that is working to ban-fully autonomous weapons. The survey was posted today at the website Duck of Minerva, an international affairs blog. (more…)
Crystal Valdez selected to meet with 34 laureates at international conference
From the time she was a young girl, Crystal Valdez was fascinated by science. “When I first learned we are composed of cells and that cells are composed of molecules and atoms, I was amazed and wanted to understand how it all works,” the chemistry graduate student recalled.
That curiosity ultimately led her to the laboratory of Anastassia Alexandrova at UCLA, where Valdez has earned a reputation for her research on the design and function of enzymes. (more…)
Microsoft’s Windows Embedded Automotive team is creating automotive solutions that meet the needs of drivers and passengers in Brazil, Beijing and points in between.
REDMOND, Wash. — June 12, 2013 — Nothing epitomizes the American car experience like the road trip. For many Americans, the image of a two-lane highway stretching toward the horizon evokes a certain sense of adventure and longing for the open road, to pack your bags and head out with no itinerary or timeline. The opposite is true in Asia, where the adventure stems more from the perpetual traffic jams and unpredictable driver behavior in mega-cities like Bangkok, Beijing and Seoul. (more…)
More than a third of marriages between 2005 and 2012 began online, according to new research at the University of Chicago, which also found that online couples have happier, longer marriages.
Although the study did not determine why relationships that started online were more successful, the reasons may include the strong motivations of online daters, the availability of advance screening and the sheer volume of opportunities online. (more…)
