Story Archive

Expert Alert

How will warmer winters impact our roads?

Manik Barman discusses how warmer winter weather will affect Minnesota road conditions.

Research Brief

Extremely slow evolution in ‘living fossils’ could inform human health

The remarkably slow evolution of gars, freshwater fish species found in Minnesota lakes and rivers as well as North and Central America, could provide new insights for modern human health.

News Release

UMN offers first-of-its-kind, graduate-level certificate in sustainability leadership

An innovative certificate in Sustainable Environmental, Social and Governance Leadership — the University's first graduate-level program in this specialty — will address a growing need for professionals with the skills to navigate today’s climate, environmental and social justice challenges.

Research Brief

A crown rust fungus could help manage two highly invasive plants in Minnesota

Though some crown rust fungi are known to cause widespread damage to oat and barley crops, new research from the University of Minnesota suggests a close relative of these major pathogens could actually be a valuable asset in managing two highly invasive wetland plants in Minnesota.

Expert Alert

Will the lack of snow impact farmers this spring?

With warmer weather and less snow than usual, Minnesota farmers are discussing potential impacts to the 2024 planting season.

Expert Alert

Winter weather’s impact on Minnesota tourism and the economy

Minnesota’s $22.8 billion tourism industry is a year-round venture drawing outdoors enthusiasts to every part of the state. But what happens when the snow and ice that make winter activities possible don’t materialize due to warmer weather?

Research Brief

Innovative detection system allows researchers to differentiate oak wilt and drought

Oak forests play a vital role in our ecosystem, providing climate regulation and erosion control across North America. However, these forests face compounding threats from drought and oak wilt, and it can be challenging to tell these two issues apart.

Research Brief

How socially and culturally diverse Minnesotans value water

Understanding how different communities value water and prioritize its protection is critical to effective policy and governance.

Research Brief

Do wolves make deer hunting over bait harder?

Whether or not wolves might affect hunting with bait has been a long-standing question — a recreational tradition that is controversial inside and outside the hunting community.

News Release

U of M Center for Animal Health and Food Safety receives $4.99M award for veterinary services capacity-building in East Africa

The Center for Animal Health and Food Safety (CAHFS) at the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine has been awarded a seven-year, $4.99 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support veterinary services capacity-building in East Africa. The grant aims to specifically build capacity for the critical evaluation, evidence-based revision and long-term monitoring of disease control programs to support local systems of animal health and food safety through group training and workforce development.

Feature

What dead fungi can teach us

A young researcher unearths their critical role in the climate crisis.

Research Brief

Satellites and AI could help farmers detect soybean aphid infestations

New research from the University of Minnesota found, when combined with artificial intelligence, remote sensing could dramatically improve management of soybean aphid, an invasive pest that negatively impacts soybean yield and quality.

Research Brief

From dusk to dawn, humans squeeze wildlife into temporal periphery

A new U of M field study in Kenya examines how human activity impacts the behavior of wildlife.

Feature

Wounded mountains, breathing earth

The dusty winds of Inner Mongolia sweep a budding ecologist onto a path to the U of M.

Research Brief

Uncovering the role of beta diversity in ecosystems

An experiment at the University's Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve may help biologists preserve biomass as the climate changes.

Research Brief

Diamonds are "forever," PFAS are not

The biological breakdown of “forever chemicals” released into the environment may be possible, according to new research from the College of Biological Sciences.

Expert Alert

Loss and damage financing at the UN Climate Conference

The COP28 global conference will address funds for areas most affected by changing climate.

Expert Alert

Iceland earthquakes may be warning of impending volcanic eruption

A state of emergency was declared this week for Iceland, as the area prepares for a possible volcanic eruption. So far, thousands of earthquakes have been recorded in the area, which has led to evacuations in Grindavik. Experts at the Icelandic Meteorological Office say that there is a “significant likelihood” of an eruption in the coming days.

Research Brief

Global forests could soak up one-third of annual fossil fuel emissions

Research results recently published in Nature show that global forest lands could store enough carbon to soak up one-third of annual fossil fuel emissions for decades to come.

Research Brief

Humans have substantially altered the relationship between wolves and deer

New research from the University of Minnesota’s Voyageurs Wolf Project found that human activities in northern Minnesota — logging, road and trail creation, and infrastructure development — have profoundly impacted where wolves hunt and kill deer fawns.