university of minnesota – Page 2 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

How red crabs on Christmas Island speak for the tropics

By Guest PostOctober 12, 2013Environment, Natureallison shaw, australia national university, christmas island, climate pattern, cocos, crabs larvae, earth, ecosystem, el niño, erratic rainfall, fluctuations in rainfall, forest dynamics, indian ocean, kathryn kelly, keeling islands, migration data, migratory animals, next generation, North America, ocean, princeton university, red crabs, tropical zones, tropics, university of minnesota, university of washington

Each year, the land-dwelling Christmas Island red crab takes an arduous and shockingly precise journey from its earthen burrow to the shores of the Indian Ocean where weeks of mating and egg laying await.

Native to the Australian territories of Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, millions of the crabs start rolling across the island roads and landscape in crimson waves when the November rains begin. After a two-week scuttle to the sea, the male crab sets up and defends a mating burrow for himself and a female of his kind, the place where she will incubate their clutch for another two weeks. Before the morning of the high tide that precedes the December new moon, the females must emerge to release their millions of eggs into the ocean. A month later, the next generation of crabs comes ashore. (more…)

The most important meal?

By Guest PostOctober 5, 2013Healthabdominal obesity, andrew odegaard, between, cardia, correlation, data, diet quality, dietary guidelines, eating breakfast, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, reduced risk, risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, university of minnesota

Research shows a correlation between eating breakfast and a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes

As Americans continue to fight the obesity epidemic and try to stem the incidence of type 2 diabetes, dietary guidelines are becoming increasingly important.

Among the possible keys to better health? Eating breakfast, for starters. (more…)

From military to MBA

By Guest PostSeptember 23, 2013Educationafghanistan, arabian peninsula, black sea, charles altman, d day planning, ernie lietzan, gi bill, heidi sandell, infantry, Iraq, level of accuracy, marine captain, marine corps base, marine infantry, mba program, middle east, military service, military to mba, national guard, operation new dawn, persian gulf, philip miller, quantico, robert paulus, university of minnesota, virginia

How the Carlson School supports veterans going for an MBA

Looking to apply to an MBA program, Heidi Sandell faced a common problem among veterans.

“I had a hard time translating my skills into something the business world could use and appreciate,” says Sandell, who served four years in the U.S. Navy. (more…)

The Tastemakers

By Guest PostAugust 13, 2013Scienceamericans, anne laure rouger, aroma, devin peterson, flavor, flavor research, flavoromics, food and flavor, frec, gary reineccius, general mills, human experience, nestle, pepsico, statistical correlations, tastemakers, university of minnesota

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…)

Closing ranks on an invader

By Guest PostJuly 27, 2013Environment, Natureash trees, asian ash trees, bwca wilderness, david zumeta, deadly insect, dnr, eab, eab killing wasps, emerald ash borer, entomology class, firewood, grand rapids, insecticides, invader, jennifer kuzma, kathy quick, magic bullet, mda, michigan, public policy problem, shawn bernick, twin cities, university of minnesota

Years ago the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, changed its policy on dealing with the emerald ash borer (EAB), a pretty but deadly insect that has killed many of the state’s ash trees.

Instead of cutting down all ash trees, they allowed residents to treat high-value trees with insecticides at their own expense, says Kathy Quick, an assistant professor in the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs who was working in Grand Rapids at the time. (more…)

A truly global course

By Guest PostJune 5, 2013Educationafghanistan, australia, basic knowledge, california, class environment, food, food systems, global course, global life cycle, jason hill, kimberley mullins, mcknight land grant, minnesota, mooc platform, moocs, perspective, population, powerpoint slides, student in zimbabwe, sustainability, university of minnesota, world

Sixteen years ago, Jason Hill stood before some 30 students in one of his first classes as a teaching assistant at the University of Minnesota. This June, more than 14,000 students will log on to take his course, Sustainability of Food Systems: A Global Life Cycle Perspective.

Hill’s class is among the first five massive open online courses (MOOCs) the U of M is offering (for free) through a partnership with Coursera, a leading MOOC platform. (more…)

Reaching more farmers

By Guest PostMay 12, 2013Environmentag professionals, corn, cropping system, economic activity, environmental impacts, expert, farmers, hancock, herbicide issues, insect pests, jeff gunsolus, john dosdall, minnesota, paul groneberg, pests in field, production of food, soybean aphid, soybeans, u extension, university of minnesota, weed science, western minnesota

Since its inception in 1909, University of Minnesota Extension has worked with farmers to find solutions to their biggest challenges. And, since we all eat—our biggest challenges. For the past 25 years, Extension has shared the U’s expertise by educating agriculture professionals, who in turn have the most influence on crop farmers today.

Keeping agriculture professionals on top of current research helps ensure economically and environmentally responsible cropping decisions are made throughout the state. (more…)

One brain-y student

By Guest PostMarch 27, 2013Educationaspects of bilingualism, benjamin munson, brain researcher, brainy student, chinese, eeg cap, english speakers, erin diamond, lab, mandarin, theoretical knowledge, university of minnesota, yang zhang

Erin Diamond shines as a brain researcher

In October 2010 freshman Erin Diamond first walked into Yang Zhang’s lab, knowing nothing about his specialty: brain imaging.

Before the day was out, she was setting up experiments, putting an EEG cap on volunteers, and generally undergoing total immersion in the field. (more…)

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