Passaic County 4-H Creates Valentine's Day Cards for Meals on Wheels Recipients
Tapinto Hawthorne, 2/20/2018
TheRutgers 4-H Cooperative Extension of Passaic Countycreated over 700 Valentine's Day Cards to distribute to residents who receive Meals on Wheels. Seventy-nine 4-H participants, from 6 to 18 years of age, worked tirelessly to hand-craft these personalized messages which will be delivered on Feb 14th to every single recipient of Meals on Wheels. This is the 4th year the Rutgers 4-H Cooperative Extension of Passaic County has created Valentine's Day cards.
Expert Advice About When to Start Kids' Dental Visits Lacking
Medscape, 2/23/2018
Experts recommend that all children have their first dental visit by age 1, but fewer than half of parents are getting that message from their children's doctor or dentist, according to a national poll...David Krol,MD, MPH, chair of the AAP's Section on Oral Health, told Medscape Medical News that the numbers that illustrate that a large number of parents aren't getting the message about the 1-year visit were "disappointing." "The one thing that was even more disturbing was the disparity between suggestions made to high- and low-income families," he said. "It shows that we as pediatricians, family physicians, nurse practitioners, dentists and dental hygienists have a lot of work to do in educating families and facilitating the connections with families to dental homes."
Why do some male trees turn female?
The Washington Post, 2/27/2018
Acer pensylvanicum, a striped maple found in the northeast United States and southeastern Canada, is that rarest of species: Not only can it take a mere three weeks to bloom (a nanosecond in arboreal terms), but an individual tree can switch sexes, from male to female.Blake-Mahmudannounced the discovery, along withLena Struwe, in the journal Trees: Structure and Function. Why they switch sexes is of abiding interest to Blake-Mahmud, a PhD student at Rutgers University and an expert in plant reproduction. It all started six years ago when she attended a field course on the biology of sex at the Mountain Lake Biological Station in Virginia. "We were traipsing through the forest and encountered the [striped maple]," Blake-Mahmud said. "They said they think it changes sex but are not sure why. I was like: 'Wow, what's going on? This sounds crazy.' "
Asian Ticks (Mysteriously) Turned Up On A New Jersey Sheep
NPR, 2/27/2018
The tick has previously been found in the U.S. on large animals in quarantine, including a horse in New Jersey in the 1960s, saysAndrea Egizi, the senior author of the paper, which was published last week in the Journal of Medical Entomology. Egizi is a research scientist with the Monmouth County Tick-Borne Disease Lab and avisiting professor in the entomology department at Rutgers University. But this is the first time all life stages of this species (larvae, nymphs and adults) have been found on an unquarantined animal in the U.S. Now here's the thing: This sheep had definitely not visited Asia. As the paper notes, it had no "travel history." So how did it pick up the ticks?
An Arctic Heat Wave Is Giving Polar Researchers the Chills
Seeker, 2/27/2018
In the high latitudes near the North Pole, sea ice cover is reaching its peak. The Arctic is still shrouded in perpetual night, the first rays of sun remain weeks away. But for the past week, over much of the region, it's been freakishly warm - so warm it's alarming scientists who study the polar ice cap and how it interacts with the sea and sky around it. In February, north of the 80th parallel, the typical temperature is about 30 degrees below zero Celsius (minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit), saidJennifer Francis, an atmospheric scientist and research professor at Rutgers University. "Right now, it's more like minus 8," Francis told Seeker.
Equine Arts & Smarts On Display At New Jersey 4-H Horse Bowl
Tapinto Milltown-Spotswood, 2/27/2018
What are the parts of the respiratory system of the horse? What does TPR stand for? What is an overo coat pattern?These are the types of questions ask of 4-H members that competed at theNew Jersey 4-HHorse Bowl Competition on Feb. 24 in Burlington County.The team of Maddie Crisp, Brittany Smith, Rachel Vence and Alexis Grogan came out on top in the senior division. Somerset's Anthony Leone was the high point individual. A combined team of Annabella Sefa, Amanda Schwegler, from Middlesex and Abbey Schneider and Blake Garber, Burlington won the junior competition. For the second year in a row, Christina Piparo of Hunterdon County was the high point individual.
Rutgers researchers develop better hazelnut tree
Morning Ag Clips, 2/28/2018
Connoisseurs of Nutella, the popular cocoa and hazelnut spread, have had their reasons for despair: there is a global hazelnut shortage. Fortunately, Rutgers researchers have developed a hazelnut tree that's resistant to a fungus called Eastern Filbert Blight, allowing the tree to thrive in the relatively cooler climes of New Jersey and the Northeast. The development, reflecting two decades of research, will expand the regions where hazelnuts can be commercially cultivated.Tom MolnarCC00, GSNB06, a plant biologist who oversees the hazelnut tree breeding program, one of only two in the nation, for the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, will be distributing the trees to New Jersey farmers to test their viability this year.
Rutgers Personal Bioblitz connects people with nature
MyCentralJersey.com, 2/28/2018
The Bioblitz is aimed at getting people to learn more about life around them, to collect species data for scientists and to promote conservation in an era of rampant habitat destruction. It is open to anyone with a connection to Rutgers, including students, faculty, staff, alumni and their family members and friends... "The Personal Bioblitz is a way to engage anybody who knows a lot or nothing about species to start looking at what exists around them in their everyday life,&" saidLenaStruwe, a professor in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, who launched the first Personal Bioblitz in 2014.
Middlesex seminar to discuss unusual produce
Morning Ag Clips, 3/1/2018
Looking for a new or different fruit or vegetable to plant in your backyard or windowsill garden this year? TheMaster Gardeners of Middlesex Countycan give you some fresh ideas at a workshop titled Growing Unusual Edibles. These include grains, heirloom fruits and a variety of vegetables...
NJAES addressed tomorrow's challenges today
Morning Ag Clips, 3/2/2018
New Jersey is an anomaly in U.S. agriculture. One of the smallest states, it is nonetheless a top 10 producer of numerous commodities. Agricultural production per acre is more than three times higher than the national average... meanwhile, on the heels of the state's thriving development of wineries and wine grape production, New Jersey's "farm-to-mug" movement is taking off, with a doubling in the number of microbreweries in the last few years. As many craft brewers seek locally grown ingredients,NJAES researchersare examining the best practices for growing and analyzing hops, and conducting trials to evaluate malting barley varieties to meet the demands of this expanding market.
The Mystery of the Sex-Changing Sugar Maple Trees
Smithsonian Magazine, 3/2/2018
Scientists have known for some time that trees not only have a sex, but can sometimes switch between sexes. But they haven't always known why. During a biology field course, Jennifer Blake-Mahmud, a PhD student at Rutgers University, learned that the striped maple, Acer pensylvanicum, could switch from male to female, Nutt reports. But no one knew why. So she andLena Struwe, a professor of environmental and biological sciences at Rutgers, took a closer look at the sex of striped maples.
Transforming the 'coastal squeeze' from climate change
The Harvard Gazette, 3/2/2018
Analysts call it "the coastal squeeze," but for plant and animal communities bordering urban and suburban seashores, another word could apply: extinction. Though the Earth's seas have risen and fallen many times over the planet's lifetime, the man-made changes occurring now and the larger ones anticipated in the near future are different, saysSteven Handel, a plant ecologist who is visiting Harvard from Rutgers University, where he is distinguished professor of ecology and evolution.
Rutgers launches effort addressing child nutrition
TapInto.net, 3/4/2018
Rutgers University is launching theNew Jersey Healthy Kids Initiative, a venue for the development of programs to promote nutrition for children. The initiative is a project of the university'sNew Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health(NJIFNH), aimed at improving the lifestyles of children across the state. NJIFNH received a three-year, $3 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to start the program... "With an interdisciplinary approach and a community voice at the initiative's core, we strengthen our chances of insuring a healthy future for the children of New Jersey," saidPeter Gillies, director of NJIFNH.
From niche to ultra niche
Floral Daily, 3/5/2018
Ultra-niche crops are exceptionally high-value crops that can be grown on ten acres or less. To teach new and beginning farmers about the cultivation, marketing, and business management of 10 "ultra-niche" crops, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, runs a USDA-funded project.Jenny S. Carleo, Associate Professor, has all the ins and outs on one of those crops within the ultra-nice project: cut flowers... The main difference between ultra-niche cut flowers compared to "regular" flower cultivation, Jenny explains, is the target market. "These flowers are meant to be sold directly to consumers, florists or wholesalers that will not be shipping them long distances. The farmer is advised to focus more on targeting retail markets and consumers who desire to buy local products.
HACCP Principles: No. 2 identify critical control points
Food Safety News, 3/5/2018
"CCPs are the last place we can control for a particular hazard by following certain steps or procedures that either completely eliminate a food safety hazard or reduce and maintain certain elements at acceptable levels. These are a very important step in the HACCP process because if CCPs are not accurately identified, any step taken after will be compromised," explainsDonna Schaffner, independent HACCP consultant microbiologist and the Associate Director of Food Safety, Quality Assurance and Training for Rutgers Food Innovation Center.
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