CALS NewsLine from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
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IN THIS NEWSLINE ISSUED August 13, 2008:
- IN MEMORIAM: PROFESSOR DARRELL GOLL
- V BAR V RANCH EXPLORERS DAY AUGUST 23
- $1.4 MILLION NIH TRAINING GRANT TO STUDY GENES, ENVIRONMENT, HUMAN HEALTH
- PHOENIX WORKSHOPS: GROWING AND PRESERVING YOUR OWN FOOD
- RETAILING VETERAN LEADS UA PROGRAM
- 'WAVELENGTHS'--A NEW SCIENCE-BASED PROGRAM ON KUAT
- SANTA CRUZ RIVER'S NAVIGABLE STATUS ON HOLD
- CONSIDER BECOMING A MASTER GARDENER
- NEW PUBLICATION: HEALTHY RECIPES FOR MEETINGS
- GROWING DWARF FRUIT TREES
- CALS IN THE NEWS
1 IN MEMORIAM: PROFESSOR DARRELL GOLL
Darrel E. Goll, professor in the departments of nutritional sciences and biochemistry and molecular biophysics at The University of Arizona, passed away on July 21. Goll will be remembered as the ultimate academic and a distinguished researcher who excelled in his service to the University.
For many years, Goll was head of the department of nutritional and food sciences. He built an excellent department and his legacy formed the framework for its successor, the department of nutritional sciences.
In his research, Goll made many important contributions to the areas of muscle biochemistry and meat sciences. He received several awards for his scholarly work and throughout his scientific career was well-funded by national agencies.
Read the rest of this article that appeared July 24 in UANews at the link below. For archived photos of Darrell Goll, go to http://nutrition.arizona.edu/images/DrGollZoom.jpg
To learn more: http://uanews.org/node/20702
2 V BAR V RANCH EXPLORERS DAY AUGUST 23
Spend a day at the UA's cattle ranch in north central Arizona, at the V Bar V Ranch Explorers Day on Saturday, August 23. The public is invited to Mahan Park, near Happy Jack, Arizona, for a day of educational activities, presentations, displays, and a V Bar V beef barbeque lunch with Dutch oven cobbler for dessert. All activities, lunch and bus transportation from Camp Verde or Prescott are included in the registration fee of $20 for adults and $12 for students 21 and under. The event runs from 9:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
The agenda includes educational programs on livestock ultrasound applications and new technology for range monitoring, and demonstrations on milk cows and milking, and chuck wagon cooking. The day also features displays, youth activities, music, ranch games and hay wagon rides. Registration forms are available at the link below.
Debra Pearson, V Bar V Ranch, dpearson@ag.arizona.edu
To learn more: http://ag.arizona.edu/aes/vbarv/ranchexplorersday.htm
3 $1.4 MILLION NIH TRAINING GRANT TO STUDY GENES, ENVIRONMENT, HUMAN HEALTH
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded The University of Arizona (UA) a five-year, $1.4 million grant to create a multidisciplinary "training ground" that will give student researchers the expertise to better understand how genes and the environment interact to affect human healthskills that could one day improve our ability to treat and prevent diseases such as diabetes and asthma.
The NIH-funded HuGER (Human Genes and the Environment Research) grant draws on the UA's expertise in multiple key areas: environmental and public health sciences and engineering; population and functional genomics/genetics; and computational biology and statistics/bioinformatics. Seventeen faculty members from six UA colleges will train and mentor the program's students, initially recruiting four graduate and three post-doctoral students by 2009.
The project is a natural fit for the UA, which has a long history of collaboration across departments; and for BIO5, which was created to facilitate collaborations. "We're really well placed because of the strengths that already exist on campus," says co-principal investigator Terrence J. Monks, professor and head of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the College of Pharmacy, as well as a BIO5 member.
Participating colleges include the College of Pharmacy, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Medicine, the College of Engineering, the College of Sciences, and the College of Public Health. BIO5 will administer HuGER, which is co-funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Human Genome Institute. The new training program seeks to build upon the established knowledge in exposure biology and high throughput genomics to produce a new generation of scientists who are equally at home with genomics and the environmental health sciences, and who can seamlessly interact with scientists from both areas.
Read the rest of this article at the link below.
Contact: Deborah Daun, Office 626-2059, Cell 247-7440, ddaun@email.arizona.edu
To learn more: http://bio5.arizona.edu/news/article.php?module=NewsExport&action=ViewArticle&news_id=625&styles=2
4 PHOENIX WORKSHOPS: GROWING AND PRESERVING YOUR OWN FOOD
Thinking about those juicy homegrown tomatoes? Would you like food ready to serve from your freezer or pantry? Maricopa Cooperative Extension can teach you how. Attend a Grow and Preserve Workshop on August 23, August 28 or September 3. Sessions run from 9:00 a.m. to noon, and from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. All workshops will be held at the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, 4341 E. Broadway in Phoenix.
Each workshop offers two three-hour sessions, one on gardening, the other on preserving. The growing portion, taught by Maricopa County Master Gardeners, covers when and what to plant in the desert, soil preparation, organic gardening and garden practices to reduce pests, irrigation and watering challenges, and selecting, planting and harvesting vegetables in the desert year round. The preserving session, taught by Sharon Hoelscher Day, area extension agent in Family and Consumer Sciences, features ways to preserve your surplus for later, canning vs. freezing, homemade salsas, canning meat and vegetables, canning safety and equipment, recipes for low-sugar jams, and long-term storage.
Gardening and preserving food at home helps reduce your grocery and gasoline bills. The workshops are ideal for both new and experienced home gardeners or home preservers, and for people concerned about food safety or eating locally.
Cost is $20 per half-day workshop or $35 for a full-day Grow and Preserve Workshop. Registration fee includes breaks and materials for each half-day. Find out more and register at the link below.
Sharon Hoelscher Day, Maricopa Cooperative Extension, shday@cals.arizona.edu
To learn more: http://cals.arizona.edu/maricopa/fcs/food.htm
5 RETAILING VETERAN LEADS UA PROGRAM
Named for University of Arizona graduate Terry J. Lundgren, the president, chairman and CEO of Macy's Inc., the University of Arizona's Center for Retailing has a strong reputation in the industry. Its annual Global Retailing Conference consistently attracts big-name speakers, including Vera Wang, Kenneth Cole and Tommy Hilfiger.
Leading the center is Melinda Burke, a retailing instructor with a storied career in the local market. Burke, who also serves as an internship coordinator, shared some of her thoughts on the success of the university's retail program and the challenges for graduates in a slower economy.
Q. Tell us about your position and your work with the retailing center.
A. My responsibility is to build a bridge from "campus to career," bringing resources into the classroom and providing a launch pad for our graduates' careers. I work to prepare our graduates to be strategic thinkers with strong leadership and communication skills, and I build relationships with industry partners who interview and hire our graduates. My goal is to have our retailing and consumer-sciences major viewed as the nation's premier program in preparing the future leaders of the retailing industry.
Read the rest of this feature that appeared in the August 11 issue of the Arizona Daily Star at the link below.
Melinda Burke, Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences, mburke@ag.arizona.edu
To learn more: http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/252060.php
6 'WAVELENGTHS'--A NEW SCIENCE-BASED PROGRAM ON KUAT
A greater public awareness about the field of science is increasingly important given the increased focus on science across the nation at a time of decreased federal funding supporting the sciences.
That is the opinion of Pamela K. White, a veteran reporter with Arizona Public Media, the media organization operated by The University of Arizona. White is the producer of the organization's new television series "WaveLengths," which investigates issues related to skin cancer, the growth of rice, mosquito control and space exploration, among other topics.
The show premiered on Tuesday, July 29 at 9 p.m. on KUAT Channel 6. The half-hour television series, narrated by BIO5 Institute director Vicki Chandler, will air through the rest of the summer.
Read more about the program at the link below.
Pamela K. White, Arizona Public Media, pwhite@email.arizona.edu
Vicki Chandler, BIO5 Institute, chandler@ag.arizona.edu
To learn more: http://lqp.arizona.edu/node/383
7 SANTA CRUZ RIVER'S NAVIGABLE STATUS ON HOLD
The U.S. Corps of Engineers seems to have had second thoughts about its May 30
designation classifying two segments of the Santa Cruz River as navigable. Once posted on the Corps' web site under a "traditional navigable water" category, documentation relating to the designation of two months ago has been replaced by the message, "This document has been temporality removed pending further policy review."
Many are asking, "Why is further policy review being conducted?" Efforts to answer that question have raised political issues of significance at the national and local levels. At the national level, what is happening along the Santa Cruz River may have significance in the making of U.S. water policy. Closer to home, the issue has caused concern and controversy in Pima County.
The two Santa Cruz River segments once deemed navigable and now under official
review are located south and north of Tucson, with one segment stretching
from Tubac to Continental and the other extending from Pima Countys Roger Road
sewage plant to the Pinal County line. Those river segments, both running year-round with treated sewage effluent, are bright ribbons in a mostly dry Santa Cruz.
Read the rest of this analysis in the July-August 2008 edition of Arizona Water Resource, published by the CALS Water Resources Research Center, at the link below.
Joe Gelt, Water Resources Research Center, jgelt@ag.arizona.edu
To learn more: http://www.ag.arizona.edu/azwater/awr/julyaug08/AWR-JulyAugust-2008.pdf
8 CONSIDER BECOMING A MASTER GARDENER
Applications are now being accepted for the fall 2008 Master Gardener Program. You don't have to be an expert gardener to become a master-gardener volunteer--all it takes is a desire to learn and to help others.
The Master Gardener program began in Washington in 1972 and is now in all 50 states and several Canadian provinces. The service is one of several volunteer programs of the Cooperative Extension Service, an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture and the state land-grant colleges and universities. In Arizona, the Cooperative Extension Service is part of the University of Arizona. Active Master Gardener Programs exist in 13 of our state's 15 counties.
Master gardeners staff plant clinics. They're available to answer landscape and gardening questions over the phone or to examine plant samples brought into the clinics. Identifying plants and insects, recommending landscape and garden plant varieties, providing planting and care instructions and diagnosing plant problems are just a handful of the services provided.
Find out more about Pima County Master Gardeners from John Begeman's column in the July 20 Arizona Daily Star: http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/athome/248758
John Begeman, Pima County Cooperative Extension, jbegeman@ag.arizona.edu
For information about Master Gardeners in each Arizona County, see the link below.
To learn more: http://cals.arizona.edu/extension/mastergardener/index.html
9 NEW PUBLICATION: HEALTHY RECIPES FOR MEETINGS
If you like to prepare food for club meetings and other community events, it can be a challenge finding recipes with ingredients and preparation methods that produce nutritious snacks.
Refreshments should be attractive, delicious and appropriate for the occasion. But given today's health recommendations to reduce fat and calories and increase vegetable and fruit consumption, recipes often need to be modified from standard cookbook selections to address those issues.
A new Cooperative Extension publication provides recipes selected and adapted for those who want to prepare and serve healthier fare. Download a copy of Healthy Recipes for Meetings at the link below.
A companion publication titled "Healthy Meetings" is also available. While geared primarily for Cooperative Extension educational meetings and events, the guide offers general advice about food preparation and physical activities that could be incorporated into many types of youth and adult gatherings. Go to http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/health/az1379.pdf
Lynne Durrant, Mohave County Cooperative Extension, ldurrant@ag.arizona.edu
To learn more: http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/health/az1454.pdf
You don't need lots of backyard space to grow fruit trees. Several dwarf fruit trees take as little room as a pot on the patio.
Dwarf fruit trees come in two distinct groups: genetically small or dwarf varieties and those whose size is controlled by a dwarfing rootstock. Small fruit trees include pomegranate and Mexican lime. Dwarf fruit varieties include "Blackjack" dwarf fig and "Bonanza" dwarf peach.
To find out more about dwarf fruit tree varieties, read the rest of this article from the July 27 issue of the Arizona Daily Star.
John Begeman, Pima County Cooperative Extension, jbegeman@ag.arizona.edu
To learn more: http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/249721.php
BENTLEY FANE PODCAST
"Engineering a Self-Destructing Virus"
The UANews July 24 edition "PodCats" features a conversation with Bentley Fane, a professor of veterinary sciences and microbiology and a member of the BIO5 Institute. Fane discusses research that is helping to make plants and animals more virus resistant.
http://uanews.org/node/20704
SHEEP STUDY SHOWS EFFECTS OF PROPOSED ROSEMONT MINE
One of the few studies conducted on mining's effects on wildlife found that a native desert-bighorn sheep population hung on despite the presence of a major copper mine northwest of Tucson. The bighorns in and around the Silver Bell Mine survived. But in general, other studies have shown that "large alterations in the landscape are not likely beneficial to most big game," said Paul Krausman, a lead author of the sheep study.
Even the bighorn sheep will likely abandon the Silver Bell area once mining eliminates more of their habitat, said Krausman, a former University of Arizona professor.
The study is becoming part of the debate today as wildlife officials and mining officials disagree over likely effects of the proposed Rosemont open-pit copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains, southeast of Tucson.
Read the entire article that appeared in the July 28 Arizona Daily Star: http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/250132
Lisa Graumlich, School of Natural Resources, lisag@cals.arizona.edu
LESQUERELLA: THE NEXT SOURCE OF BIOFUEL?
While consumers are lately hearing a lot about corn-based ethanol, a group of scientists advocates using mustard as a lotion, paint, biodiesel additive and lubricant.
With funding from USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, a research group in Texas, Arizona and Illinois is looking at Lesquerella, a member of the mustard family, as a potential source for energy.
For more information, read the rest of this article from the July 31 issue of Ag Professional: http://www.agprofessional.com/show_story.php?id=53436
Dennis Ray, dtray@email.arizona.edu and Bill McCloskey, wmcclosk@ag.arizona.edu, Department of Plant Sciences; and Trent Teegerstrom, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, tteegers@ag.arizona.edu
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