michigan state university – Page 10 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

For College Students, Job Market a Mixed Bag

By Guest PostNovember 17, 2012Jobsalex mitchell, bayer corp, bayer headquarters, blissfield, college students, communications employer, finding, job, mba candidate, megan brody, michigan, michigan state university, mixed bag, national career, new jersey, ohio, outcome, recruiting cycle, recruiting trends report, summer internship

EAST LANSING, Mich. — As Michigan State University’s Recruiting Trends report shows, college students are experiencing a mixed bag of outcomes when it comes to finding a job.

For some MSU students, like MBA candidate Megan Brody, the job search was short and rewarding. For others, like journalism senior Alex Mitchell, the hunt hasn’t led to any full-time positions.

Mitchell, who graduates in December with a degree in journalism, has sent out about 15 resumes to communications employers in Michigan and Ohio hoping to stay close to his hometown of Blissfield in southeastern Michigan. He said he will continue the process until he gets a job he sees fit. (more…)

Climate Change Threatens Giant Pandas’ Bamboo Buffet–and Survival

By Guest PostNovember 16, 2012Environment, Nature21st century, affect, bamboo, bamboo famine, changing climate, chinese academy, climate change, climate projection, common species, conservation resource, field data, food supply, forest floors, historic data, human habitation, jianguo jack liu, julie winkler, mao ning tuanmu, meal source, michigan state university, mountain range, msu, natural bridge, northwestern china, optimistic scenarios, panda habitat, ploughshare tortoise, qinling mountains, sciences, scientists, shaanxi province, weihua xu, wild population, yu li, zhiyun ouyang

China’s endangered wild pandas may need new dinner reservations–and quickly, based on models that indicate climate change may kill off swaths of bamboo that pandas need to survive

In this week’s Nature Climate Change, an international journal, scientists from Michigan State University (MSU) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences provide comprehensive forecasts of how changing climate may affect the most common species of bamboo that carpet the forest floors of prime panda habitat in northwestern China. Even the most optimistic scenarios show that bamboo die-offs would effectively cause prime panda habitat to become inhospitable by the end of the 21st century.

The scientists studied possible scenarios of climate change in the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi Province. At the northern boundary of China’s panda distributional range, the Qinling Mountains are home to about 275 wild pandas, which account for about 17 percent of the remaining wild population. The Qinling pandas, which have been isolated because of thousands of years of human habitation around the mountain range, vary genetically from other giant pandas. The geographic isolation of these pandas makes them particularly valuable for conservation, but vulnerable to climate change. (more…)

Tigers Take the Night Shift to Coexist with People

By Guest PostSeptember 3, 2012Naturebinoj shresthaof, camera trap, carnivore, chitwan, chitwan tiger, coexist, human, jack liu, jhamak karkiof, jianguo, michigan state university, motion detecting, NASA, national park, Nature, neil carter, nepal, night shift, road, tiger, trail

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Tigers aren’t known for being accommodating, but a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that the carnivores in Nepal are taking the night shift to better coexist with humans.

The revelation that tigers and people are sharing exactly the same space – the same roads and trails – of Chitwan National Park flies in the face of long-held convictions in conservation circles. It also underscores how successful conservation efforts need sciences that takes into account both nature and humans.

“As our planet becomes more crowded, we need to find creative solutions that consider both human and natural systems,” said Jianguo “Jack” Liu, the director of the Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability at Michigan State University. “Sustainability can be achieved if we have a good understanding of the complicated connections between both worlds. We’ve found something very interesting is happening in Nepal that holds promise for both humans and nature to thrive.” (more…)

Microbes Help Hyenas Communicate via Scent

By Guest PostSeptember 2, 2012Natureage, animal, animal behavior, bacteria, beneficial relationship, chemical signature, communication, communication system, diversity, DNA, hyena, hyena clan, kay holekamp, kenyan plains, kevin theis, key controller, mammal, michigan state university, microbial community, reproductive status, scent gland, sex, symbiotic bacteria, trait

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Bacteria in hyenas’ scent glands may be the key controllers of communication.

The results, featured in the current issue of Scientific Reports, show a clear relationship between the diversity of hyena clans and the distinct microbial communities that reside in their scent glands, said Kevin Theis, the paper’s lead author and Michigan State University postdoctoral researcher.

“A critical component of every animal’s behavioral repertoire is an effective communication system,” said Theis, who co-authored the study with Kay Holekamp, MSU zoologist. “It is possible that without their bacteria, many animals couldn’t ‘say’ much at all.” (more…)

Computer Viruses Could Take a Lesson from Showy Peacocks

By Guest PostSeptember 1, 2012Science, Technologyavida, charles ofria, chris chandler, computer network, computer program, computer virus, digital organism, epeacock, evolution, evolutionary benefit, genetic quality, havoc, ian dworkin, indicator, lesson, michigan state university, peacock, sexual display, software environment, tails, virtual world

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Computer viruses are constantly replicating throughout computer networks and wreaking havoc. But what if they had to find mates in order to reproduce?

In the current issue of Evolution, Michigan State University researchers created the digital equivalent of spring break to see how mate attraction played out through computer programs, said Chris Chandler, MSU postdoctoral researcher at MSU’s BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action. (more…)

Getting the Most out of Soybeans

By Guest PostAugust 24, 2012Environmentamerican chemical society, automobile part, bio based product, biomanufacturing job, carbon footprint, commodity crop, environmental performance, insulation, isocyanate, michigan state university, non renewable resource, oil, philadelphia, plastic product, ramani narayan, rubber product, soybean, soybean oil, urethane foam, zeeland farm services

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Soybeans are one of the largest commodity crops in the world.

They also are starting to play a major role in reducing our carbon footprint, providing improved environmental performance and replacing finite, non-renewable resources such as oil.

And this is where Ramani Narayan comes in. (more…)

Two New Owls Discovered in the Philippines

By Guest PostAugust 22, 2012Natureasian ornithology, birdlife international, birdtour asia, camiguin hawk owl, camiguin sur, cebu, cebu hawk owl, deforestation, discovery, DNA, forest, forktail, island, mammalogy, michigan state university, mindanao, new owls, ninox hawk owls, oriental bird club, pam rasmussen, Philippines, species of owls, vocalization

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Two new species of owls have been discovered in the Philippines, and a Michigan State University researcher played a key role in confirming their existence.

The discovery, which is featured in the current issue of Forktail, the Journal of Asian Ornithology, took years to confirm, but it was well worth the effort, said the paper’s lead author Pam Rasmussen, MSU assistant professor of zoology and assistant curator of mammalogy and ornithology at the MSU Museum.

“More than 15 years ago, we realized that new subspecies of Ninox hawk-owls existed in the Philippines,” she said. “But it wasn’t until last year that we obtained enough recordings that we could confirm that they were not just subspecies, but two new species of owls.” (more…)

A Hands-on Approach to Treating Patients with Pulmonary Disease

By Guest PostAugust 15, 2012Healthaaron bohrer, biomarker, blood, breathing, chronic, copd, daniel jones, donald sefcik, drug free, hands on, hands on treatment, john wang, kerry melenovsky, lung diseases, medical care, michigan state university, obstructive pulmonary disease, osteopathic manipulative treatment, plasma, pulmonary disease, sham treatment, sherman gorbis, william pintal

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Researchers at Michigan State University are working to show how a noninvasive, drug-free form of hands-on medical care can help patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease improve their breathing.

The team from MSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine will apply four osteopathic manipulative treatments to a group of patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. One of the most common lung diseases, COPD typically manifests as chronic bronchitis (a long-term cough with mucus) or emphysema (destruction of the lungs over time). (more…)

Tag Archives: michigan state university