PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) have become a major environmental concern. These chemicals, used in various industrial and consumer products for their heat, oil, stain, grease, and water-resistant properties, have infiltrated our food and water supplies. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that 97% of Americans have PFAS in their bodies. While the full …
After 44 years of dedicated service, Howard Russell, also known as Bugman, has retired from Michigan State University. He spent the last 37 of those years as the Michigan State University (MSU) insect/arthropod diagnostician. In this role, he helped thousands of clients identify and manage arthropods over the phone, through email and Ask Extension, and by …
Researchers at Michigan State University have discovered two proteins that work together to determine the fate of cells in plants facing certain stresses. Ironically, a key discovery in this finding, published recently in Nature Communications, was made right as the project’s leader was getting ready to destress. Postdoctoral researcher Noelia Pastor-Cantizano was riding a bus to …
Unpredictable precipitation is one of the most challenging elements of being a farmer. Not enough moisture, and plant growth is hindered. Too much can saturate the soil while setting the stage for diseases to thrive. Recently, Michigan growers have experienced both extremes. Some of the driest and wettest months on record have occurred in the …
A team of Michigan State University researchers has received a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to investigate the climate change mitigation potential of switchgrass cropping systems. The group is led by Christopher Blackwood, a professor in the departments of Plant Biology and Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences (PSM), as …
A new genetically engineered potato developed by Michigan State University potato breeder Dave Douches has been granted exemption from the biotechnology regulations placed on genetically modified products by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS). The Kal91.3 potato is bred from an MSU potato variety named Kalkaska. The newly developed …
Municipal water systems must remove “forever chemicals” from their tap water under a new rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency meant to prevent deaths and serious illnesses linked to the substances. This limit is the first of its kind for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as PFAS, a toxic chemical used in everyday items …
East Lansing, MI — With climate change disrupting food availability and quality on the rise, a Michigan State University soil biophysics professor’s subsurface water retention technology—or SWRT—is poised to positively impact crops worldwide. Dr. Alvin Smucker of the Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences developed the SWRT technology with his colleagues after six years …
Cyanobacteria are little green microorganisms that photosynthesize, like plants and algae do, but with stark differences in how they function. “I prefer to say that they are tiny green bacteria that are able to perform photosynthesis as plants but within a really tiny compartment,” María Santos-Merino, a postdoctoral researcher in the Ducat lab at the …
Timothy Miles, an assistant professor in MSU’s Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, is teaming up with researchers across the U.S. to further study management of Anthracnose and Botrytis fruit rot in blueberries. East Lansing, Mich. — A scientist at Michigan State University has received a $3.95 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture …
