Great debate
The New York Times city edition featured the
Lynchburg (Va.) University’s award-winning debate team, coached by Brett O’Donnell. UGA speech communication professor and debate coach Ed Panetta weighed in on Lynchburg’s consistent success, made more remarkable by the kinds of students on the team: “We get kids (at UGA) who may have been debating since the sixth grade,” he says. “They come to us with seven years’ experience, and they attend debate camps in the summer. Brett’s kids have limited debate experience.”
Trade in China
Urumqi, China, was once an
isolated city; now traders from across South and Central Asia flock to the city, which is connected to the rest of China by air and rail, according to the Associated Press. Urumqi also is reviving an age-old trading route that is fast
expanding China’s growing regional influence, potentially at India’s expense. “The next 10 years will be critical to determining what sort of mutual spheres of influence emerge between China and India,” says Anupam Srivastava, executive director of UGA’s India Initiative.
Friendlier fumigant
UGA scientists are searching for a replacement for the farm fumigant methyl bromide, which destroys the ozone layer. Though it is officially banned in this country, it is still used as a pesticide for some crops, such as strawberries and tomatoes, reports the
Associated Press. UGA plant pathologist Alex Csinos is among those studying an alternative
fumigant, metam-sodium. “We’re trying to
determine how well it distributes and how well it kills specific pests,” says Csinos. “That is the
scientific unknown.”
Donor victory
Officials at George Mason University are hoping the school’s recent NCAA victory will attract donors and applicants, according to Inside Higher Ed. J. Douglas Toma, UGA higher education professor, says that while it’s impossible to quantify the direct effect of athletic success on a school, George Mason might be able to turn its historic upset into national exposure. “In the popular imagination, prominent athletics is associated with research universities,” he says.
Scheduling shots
Many veterinarians are now recommending that pets be vaccinated every three years, not every year, to avoid side effects that range from minor to deadly, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Some
veterinarians say that even a three-year guideline is arbitrary, and that a vaccine’s duration depends on the type of pet, the maker of the vaccine and the animal’s environment. “Pets exposed to a lot of new populations, like going to dog shows or being boarded, might need to stay with yearly shots, but if a pet lives in your home and just goes out in the backyard for an occasional walk, then every three years should be fine,” says David Hurley, UGA large animal medicine professor.
Garden classroom
Georgia Trend highlights the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in a recent article. In it, garden director A. Jefferson Lewis says that the garden is a living classroom, encouraging visitors to learn more about plants and nature. “A relatively small percentage of the plants in the world have been described and named,” he says. “We’re losing things before we ever know we’ve lost them—that is the real tragedy. Who knows what cure might be out there or what food source?” |
