Rutgers Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program



Binge drinking changes your DNA, and that matters for treating addictionThe Hartford Courant, 3/12/2019Binge drinking can trigger genetic changes that make people crave alcohol even more, researchers from?Rutgers University?have found. It's the latest in a growing body of evidence that alcohol and drug use causes genetic changes that may reinforce addiction and can be passed down to future generations... "It's an egg-and-chicken kind of thing," said?Dipak Sarkar, co-author of the study and director of the endocrine program at Rutgers. "You drink and you want to stop, but stopping gets harder because you have an alteration of your gene that makes you more susceptible to drink."The Very Optimistic New Argument for Dimming the SkyThe Atlantic, 3/12/2019On Monday, a new paper from a team of researchers claimed that it is possible to dim the sky in such a way that no region of the planet will be made significantly worse. Yet the paper, published in Nature Climate Change, has already been criticized by those who worry that geo-engineering researchers are moving too fast and overselling the still-notional technology... "I don't think it is correct to imply that geo-engineering is a good or safe idea," said?Alan Robock, a professor of environmental sciences at Rutgers, in an email. He questioned how the study used computer climate models-that is, its authors did not simulate solar geo-engineering by modeling volcanic aerosols in the high atmosphere.For first time, Rutgers has counted all the tick species in NJNJ101.5, 3/12/2019A team at Rutgers University has completed a comprehensive list of 11 tick species identified in New Jersey. The study's lead author was entomology doctoral student?James Occi. The co-author of the study was?Andrea Egizi, a visiting professor at Rutgers Center for Vector Biology and a research scientist in the Monmouth County Tick-borne Disease Program.?Dina Fonseca, a professor and director of the?Center for Vector Biology, says the tick threat does not have an off-season.To Limit Solar Geoengineering's Side Effects, the Right 'Dose' Is NeededScientific American, 3/12/2019Of the long list of strategies scientists have suggested to combat global warming, solar geoengineering may be among the most controversial. Now, new research may allay some of the fears about the side effects of solar geoengineering-or at least it could encourage more research into the subject... However, the study doesn't exactly mimic the effects of aerosols in the air, which may have additional side effects, such as warming certain parts of the atmosphere, changing atmospheric circulation or affecting the ozone layer, according to?Alan Robock, a climate and aerosols expert at Rutgers University.Could the Raw Milk Boom Be a Lifeline for Struggling Farmers?Civil Eats, 3/12/2019"Fluid raw milk is the only food category where anything less than perfectly safe is unacceptable and where governments attempt to ban it,"?Joseph Heckman, a soil science professor at?Rutgers University?who writes about organic agriculture, told Civil Eats via email. A resident of New Jersey, which is the only state that has banned raw milk outright, Heckman sees the disconnect. And he travels to Pennsylvania and elsewhere to buy raw milk for his family.Black sea bass gobbling up lobstersMV Times, 3/13/2019Black sea bass, a saltwater fish taken commercially and recreationally in Massachusetts, have increased in number throughout southern New England waters and rattled the lobster industry with their wolfish appetites. "They feed aggressively,"?Rutgers University marine biologist Olaf Jensen?said. "They're not picky eaters. If it's the right size and it's alive, they'll eat it."The case for spraying (just enough) chemicals into the sky to fight climate changeVox, 3/13/2019Solar geoengineering is very controversial. But a study published this week in Nature Climate Change argues that the strategy could be highly successful... However, the study doesn't actually model what happens when you shoot aerosols into the sky. It models what happens if the sun's rays are dimmed. Although that's a fairly common proxy,?Rutgers University climate expert Alan Robock?objects that it doesn't precisely capture the impact of spraying aerosols, which could have other effects, like messing with atmospheric circulation.Mild winter, wet 2018 may cause surge in ticks in NJ, NortheastThe Record, 3/14/2019A mild winter coupled with an excessively rainy 2018 may lead to a surge in the number of ticks capable of transmitting Lyme disease this spring, according to researchers at Rutgers University... "Ticks, like most small organisms, are very sensitive to dry weather. It kills them," said?Dina M. Fonseca, a?Rutgers entomology?professor and director of its the?Center for Vector Biology. "But we have been experiencing exceptionally wet seasons. It slows down their decline in number. So we could end up for a very large population this year."The Energy 202: Study renews debate about a radical climate solution - geoengineeringThe Washington Post, 3/14/2019The idea of artificially modifying the Earth's climate to reverse human-driven global warming has gotten a pretty bad rap.?Alan Robock, a Rutgers Universityresearcher who has also studied geoengineering, argued that since the study presents an idealized version of geoengineering in a climate model - reducing solar radiation affecting the Earth directly, rather than injecting any substance in the atmosphere to accomplish this effect - it avoids some more concerning implications. "There is no way to do what they modeled, as we cannot turn down the Sun," Robock wrote in an email.More vitamin D may improve memory but too much may slow reaction timeNeuroscience News, 3/14/2019A unique Rutgers-led study found that overweight and obese older women who took more than three times the recommended daily dose of vitamin D showed improvements in memory and learning - but also had slower reaction times. The researchers hypothesize that slower reaction times may increase the risk of falling among older people... "The slower reaction time may have other negative outcomes such as potentially increasing the risk of falling and fractures," said senior author?Sue Shapses, a professor in the?Department of Nutritional Sciences at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and director of the New Jersey Obesity Group.Meet the life-saving microbe that's about to become N.J.'s newest state , 3/14/2019The state Senate voted Thursday to designate?Streptomyces griseus?as the official state microbe.?Streptomyces griseus?helped create the world's first antibiotic for tuberculosis, and state lawmakers want to shine a light on its New Jersey origins and tremendous accomplishments.?Streptomyces griseus, a soil-based microorganism, was discovered in New Jersey in 1916 by?Dr. Selman Waksman?and?Dr. Roland Curtis. Waksman, along with?Dr. Albert Schatz?andElizabeth Bugie, would lead a team of Rutgers scientists to create streptomycin, the world's first antibiotic for tuberculosis, in 1955, according to the bill.A New Discovery Upends What We Know About VirusesThe Atlantic, 3/14/2019one virus breaks all the rules.Faba bean necrotic stunt virus, or FBNSV for short, infects legumes, and is spread through the bites of aphids.. "This is truly a revolutionary result in virology," says?Siobain Duffy of Rutgers University, who wasn't involved in the study. "Once again, viruses prove that they've had the evolutionary time to try just about every reproductive strategy, even ones that are hard for scientists to imagine."NJAES a catalyst for economic growth, innovationMorning Ag Clips, 3/15/2019For more than 100 years, investment in?New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station?research has sustained innovative work that strengthens economic viability and improves public health. NJAES researchers strive to gain a deeper understanding of our physical world, identify ways in which humans affect our planet and develop multi-dimensional solutions to address real-world problems. NJAES has a vigorous program of applied research and outreach through its statewide centers (for example: labs, research farms, business incubators, and extension offices).This Songbird Is Nearly Extinct in the Wild. An International Treaty Could Help Save It, but Won't.The New York Times, 3/15/2019International trade poses a threat to many species, yet not one is subject to key regulations that would help protect it. They are not listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), a treaty meant to ensure that trade does not imperil the survival of threatened and endangered species... But greater awareness will not necessarily hasten new listings, because Cites members consider more than just science when it comes to making decisions, said?Julie Lockwood, an ecologist at?Rutgers University?who was not involved in the research. "Every country is weighing the biological risk with the commercial risk, because people are making money off these species," she said.11 Tick Species Confirmed in NJ: Rainy Weather Could Cause SurgePatch, 3/17/2019A Rutgers-led team has published the first scientific list of tick species confirmed in New Jersey, recommending tick surveillance across the state since a rainly 2018 could cause a surge. Professor?Dina M. Fonseca, director of the Center for Vector Biology in the Department Entomology?at Rutgers-New Brunswick, notes that blacklegged ticks are "highly sensitive to drying out and can be killed by bouts of dry weather." "The exceptionally wet weather in 2018 could favor exceptionally large populations of ticks this year, increasing the threat of Lyme disease and other pathogens they transmit," she said.Here's a running list of all the ways climate change has altered Earth in 2019Mashable, 3/18/2019Earth is now the warmest it's been in some 120,000 years. Eighteen of the last 19 years have been the warmest on record. And concentrations of carbon dioxide - a potent greenhouse gas - are likely the highest they've been in 15 million years. "Climate change is real, it's happening now, and humans are responsible for it,"?Bob Kopp, a climate scientist at Rutgers University?and a coauthor of the congressionally mandated Fourth National Climate Assessment Kopp said in an interview, outlining critical points he planned to make to federal lawmakers.The US Opposed a UN Plan to Study Geoengineering to Combat Climate ChangeMotherBoard, 3/18/2019Solar radiation management is an arguably more stigmatized, and theoretical, geoengineering feat. This approach aims to reflect sunlight back into space, staving off warming, either by using spraying a sheath of reflective aerosol particles into the atmosphere or selectively brightening marine clouds to bounce back Earthbound rays. But before that can happen, "we need the research to make an informed decision, as to whether it would be riskier to implement it or to not implement it and live with trying to adapt to the impacts of global warming," said?Alan Robock, a professor of environmental sciences at Rutgers University.Rutgers Experts Comment on New Jersey's State Microbe- Streptomyces griseus.BioPharma Dive, 3/18/2019Rutgers professionals are now available to give their comments on the legislation that would eventually name Streptomyces griseus as the New Jersey state microbe. Graduate students?Elizabeth Bugie?and?Albert Schatz?along with their professor,?Selman Waksman?found out that S. griseus forms an antibiotic, which they decided to name streptomycin. They also found that the Streptomycin kills the bacteria that were causing diseases like cholera, tuberculosis, typhoid, and dysentery, all of which were dead set against to penicillin.New agricultural program takes root at VHS thanks to land donation and community inputThe Daily Journal, 3/18/2019Community input and a land donation helped Vineland High School grow a new field of study that honors traditional farming while embracing the technological advances in agriculture... "We've invited 4-H to be part of the advisory committee,' Nate Frey said, adding they are also incorporating FFA, formerly known as Future Farmers of America.?Rutgers University?as well as the?Rutgers Food Innovation Center, located in Bridgeton, are also partners in the program.A new age for energy: Startups offer high-tech ways to save powerNJBiz, 3/18/2019Some startups hope to extend the state's innovation to other areas, like high-tech energy. One such innovator is Manveer Sidhu, the founder, and principal researcher at Sidhu Laboratories, currently located in Rutgers University's Bordentown-based?EcoComplex Clean Technology Innovation Center, an incubator. The facility supports about nine companies that are generally in the pre-commercialization stage, where they're not generating much revenue. The Rutgers center is important for clean technology and other startups because it provides "low-rate rent for office and lab space, and offers space to organize meetings and connect with other startups, while providing introductions to potential funders and others," noted center director?Serpil Guran. "Before they can commercialize, they must prove their technology."SEBS student project wins landscape awardMorning Ag Clips, 3/19/2019What if we brought the idea of Rutgers Gardens to the?Cook/Douglas campus. We did just that with “The Garden Walk.” The goal of the design was to bring students back to nature and foster a sustainability culture, strengthening the campuses’ collective identity as natural campuses. Our design team was also tasked with fitting the design into the Rutgers 2030 Master Plan.We invite you to send an email to?InTheNews@aesop.rutgers.edu?alerting us when you are quoted in a story or if your program is mentioned in the news. Please send links of news,?as it happens, as some media outlets do not retain online links beyond a week.Visit the newly redesigned SEBS and NJAES Newsroom at?sebsnjaesnews.rutgers.edu. ................
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