News Archive
Monday, November 28 2011
News
Study by ISU's Pruetz finds savanna chimps exhibit sharing behavior like humans
A new study by Iowa State anthropology professor Jill Pruetz (at left) reports that chimpanzees from her Fongoli research site in Senegal also frequently share food and hunting tools with other chimps. Co-authored by ISU anthropology graduate student Stacy Lindshield, it is the first study to document non-meat sharing behavior among chimpanzees.Their study is posted online in Primates and will be published in a future issue of the journal.
Another ISU student chapter is best in U.S.
Iowa State's student chapter of the Associated General Contractors (AGC) has been named the most outstanding chapter in the United States for the 2010-11 academic year. The group was recognized for its 2011 spring break community service -- 16 restoration and building projects in Eastern Iowa. About 40 students contributed 2,700 hours of construction work that week. During the 2010-11 school year, the construction engineering students completed a total of 4,400 hours of community service. They will be honored at an event on campus Dec. 7. And they will receive a check for $1,500 to use toward their 2012 spring break service trip.
Martin Spalding
Iowa State University scientists genetically increase algae biomass by more than 50 percent
Research at Iowa State University has led to discovery of a genetic method that can increase biomass in algae by 50 to 80 percent. The breakthrough comes from turning on certain genes in algae that increase the amount of photosynthesis in the plant, which leads to more biomass. This patent-pending technology is available for licensing from the Iowa State University Research Foundation, which also provided technology development funds.
ISU Greenlee School to host the Iowa final for 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee
Iowa State's Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication will host the Iowa final for the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Saturday, Feb. 4. Participating schools throughout most counties in Iowa will hold their own spelling bees. The winners will qualify to advance to the state final at Iowa State.
ISU photo by Bob Elbert
New ISU horticulture app gives students, gardeners mobile flower power
A smart phone application developed by Iowa State University that started as a classroom tool has now blossomed into a resource for master gardeners and home garden enthusiasts. The app, called "Mobile Educator: Flowers 101," helps gardeners identify more than 250 garden plants by using the plant's features - color, height, growing zone, etc.
Cain top choice in new ISU/Gazette/KCRG Poll, but voters have not made up their minds
A new Iowa State University/Gazette/KCRG poll of 1,256 registered Iowa voters finds Herman Cain leading Republican presidential candidates among likely caucus goers, with Ron Paul second. Cain (24.5 percent) is more than four percentage points ahead of Paul (20.4), with Mitt Romney (16.3 percent) being the only other candidate receiving more support than "Can't Decide" (8.1 percent). But the race remains remarkably fluid. Respondents were asked how certain they were of their choice and the majority of them (52.3 percent) indicated that they were undecided.
Iowa State finance professors study bank failures and the FDIC's role in their restart
Valentina Salotti (right), an Iowa State assistant professor of finance; and Arnold Cowan, a professor of finance, have been studying recent bank failures and the role the FDIC has played in their resolution. Despite having 85 more bank failures this year through October, the ISU researchers say the rate of bank failures is slowing as the industry finds firmer financial ground.
Political analyst Charlie Cook to headline inaugural Harkin Institute events on Nov. 29
Romer to discuss economic policy, leadership as ISU's fall Mary Louise Smith Chair
Christina Romer, former chair of the Council of Economic
Advisers -- an agency within the Executive Office of the
President of the United States -- will give the fall 2011
Mary
Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics Lecture on
Thursday, Dec. 1. She will present "Policy Responses to
the Great Recession: The Interaction of Leadership and Economic
Ideas" at 8 p.m. in the Great Hall of Memorial
Union.
ISU professor has solo art show in New York City
"No 'nother country," the first solo exhibition of work by Mitchell Squire to be held in New York City, will open Saturday, Nov. 19, at CUE Art Foundation in the city's Chelsea Historic District. In addition to being an associate professor of architecture, Squire is an installation and performance artist and sculptor. "No 'nother country" features 10 of his most recent mixed-media works -- two wall pieces, seven freestanding installations and one video. The show will run through Jan. 14. Complete details, including photographs and an essay by Elly Fishman, "Harvesting Narratives: Tales of Rural America and Race in the Work of Mitchell Squire," are in the catalogue online.
In the news
Over-the-top soil
The Columbus Dispatch
Midwest farm values are soaring, forced up by higher commodity prices and plunging interest rates. Farmland owners are sitting on an attractive investment. "You have two people who want a piece of land, and they start fighting over it," says ISU Economics Professor Mike Duffy. "We had a sale in northwest Iowa, and it went for $16,750 an acre."
Technology group honors nine women of innovation
The Des Moines Register
The Technology Association of Iowa has honored nine "Women of Innovation" for advancing Iowa's reputation in the world as a place where innovation is fostered. Among the honorees: ISU's Bryony Bonning and Chloe Dedic.