Using an evolutionary trick
Popular Science magazine featured the use of genetically
modified trees to clean up mercury contamination in Danbury, Conn.
The trees were developed by UGA genetics professor Richard Meagher,
who told the writer “the idea was to take [the] evolutionary
trick and give it to the trees.”
Raw dangers
The director of UGA’s Food Safety Center, Michael Doyle, was
quoted in the New York Times (and elsewhere) in an article
about the importance—and limits—of washing raw fruits
and vegetables before eating. “You’d have to cook it
to be absolutely sure,” he said. “Not everybody wants
to eat their strawberries cooked.”
Creating connections
In a story dealing with use of the Web by political candidates,
the Detroit News quoted UGA
political science professor Audrey Haynes. “One of the most
important things you can do now is connect with other people like
you,” she said. “It isn’t just about money, it
is about creating a movement. Once you are involved at this level,
it is not likely that you are going to turn your back on the candidate.”
Acting like an ape
National Geographic’s January issue reported on the
discovery that brown capuchin monkeys use rocks as hammers to crack
nuts. The magazine quoted primatologist Dorothy Fragaszy, UGA professor
of psychology, on this surprising use of tools. “These monkeys
are acting in ways we once thought only apes did,” she said.
Paying for safety
New truck industry rules limit the number of hours a day a trucker
can drive. The Cincinnati Enquirer
talked to Fred Stephenson of the Terry College of Business about
the costs. “If drivers are driving less miles, then the carriers
are going to need more drivers and more trucks,” he said.
“But if a rule comes in like this that is theoretically supposed
to make us safer, then shippers, customers and even society as a
whole will probably pay for it.”
Frankenfish fears
UGA’s Richard Winn was quoted in a
Chicago Tribune story about the appearance of fluorescent
fish—glowing because they have been genetically altered—on
the pet store market. Ethics experts are concerned about the lack
of regulation, and scientists like Winn who use the transgenic fish
in their research are concerned about the implications. “There
is the potential of the public not seeing the full application of
genetic research,” Winn said. “If it seems trivial or
unnecessary or a Frankenfish, it makes people turn off or be afraid
of it.”
Financial restatements
Terry College of Business accounting professor Dennis Beresford
was interviewed by the New York Times for an article about
the record number of public companies filing financial restatements
in 2003. Beresford explained the possible causes, and concluded,
“It means that companies either through oversight or through
purposeful behavior just deliberately screwed this up.”
Serene cows
Jerry Baker, a livestock specialist at UGA’s Coastal Plain
Experiment Station, was quoted in an Associated Press story that
ran in Boston, Miami and elsewhere. Baker has developed a test for
predicting the temperament of beef cows. “Calves with poor
dispositions can cause costly damage to equipment, gates and fences
and harm handlers,” he explained, “and they can generally
take longer to work.”
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