September 17, 1999
Moberg Campus Community Memorial
"A Tribute to Gary Moberg"
Tuesday, September 21, 1999, 4 pm
Putah Creek Lodge
Reception follows
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Arboretum's 25th Annual Plant Faire
The 25th annual Arboretum Plant Faire will be held Saturday, October 2, 1999, from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Arboretum Headquarters on LaRue Road. In addition to the usual wide variety of plants available, this year's event features plants that particularly attract birds and butterflies. Other Arboretum activities scheduled in October are: . Walking Tours on Sundays at 2:00 p.m. . Plant & Garden Talk on October 12 at 7:30 p.m. . Beginners' Bird Walk on October 9 . Creatures of the Night on October 29 . Wine Country Garden Tour on October 19
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"Visage: The International Face"
From primitive tribes to sophisticated artists, the human face has held mankind's interest for centuries. Curator and collector Dolph Gotelli, professor, Department of Environmental Design, brought together a variety of objects from around the world that highlight or focus on the face. All cultures have emphasized the face in varied forms and media. In many folk art pieces, the face is abstracted, exaggerated, anthropomorphic, horrific or sacred. It often has been depicted as overscale, with diminished limbs. Historic and contemporary artists alike have transformed vegetables, suns and moons into a humanoid countenance. Both human and animal faces have been depicted on everything from utilitarian objects to great works of art. The artist's portrayal of the face is represented in diverse media: ceramic jugs, porcelain pitchers, papier-mache Halloween pumpkins, Easter candy, composition toys, Victorian paper scraps, textiles and wooden sculptures.
Rhonda R. O'Brien
Program Representative
Department of Environmental Design
rrobrien@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-6223
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Chancellor's Brown-Bag Updates
The Chancellor's Brown-Bag Campus Updates will be held from 12 noon to 1 p.m. on Monday, October 25, 1999, and Monday, November 22, 1999, in the Silo's Cabernet Room.
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Defensive Vigor Passed on to Young
Moms who have faced adversity produce kids who are physically better equipped to deal with the hardships of life, suggests a study by ecologist Anurag Agrawal of the Department of Entomology. Evidence of such "maternally induced" defenses was reported in the September 2 issue of the journal Nature. Examining wild radish plants and the water flea Daphnia, Agrawal and colleagues found that defensive responses triggered in both species by their respective predators were passed on to the offspring, even though the young were not under attack. The findings may have implications for the ways in which insect pests are managed in crops grown for seed production. For example, seeds produced by plants that were heavily sprayed with pesticides to protect them against insects may not be as hardy as seeds produced by plants that endured some level of insect attack. "We've generally believed that if plants are being hammered by insect pests that they won't produce as healthy seeds as would undamaged plants," Agrawal said. "But the results of this study seem to indicate the opposite it true."
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Microbe - 1; MTBE - 0
For years, bacteria have been used to clean up toxic sites; but a new microbe is the first specifically adapted for methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), according to Kate Scow, professor of soil science and microbial ecology in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources. In the first test of a microbe that eats the gasoline additive MTBE, billions of the tiny bugs are digesting pollution at the North Coast's largest clean-up site in Healdsburg, California. The new microbe, called PM1, holds great promise for getting rid of MTBE, which has contaminated 10,000 sites in California. It was discovered at a sewage treatment plant in Los Angeles where different kinds of bacteria were being used to treat waste. Scow said that something was devouring the gasoline additive, and, last year, scientists from UC Davis were able to isolate the MTBE-eating microbe strain. PM1 quickly breaks down MTBE into carbon dioxide and water. MTBE makes cleaner burning gasoline but also pollutes water and may cause cancer, scientists believe. California is phasing out use of the chemical in gasoline.
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Invasive Weed Impacts Tahoe Water
Eurasian watermilfoil is pretty to look at, and it's a nuisance. Common to eastern U. S. lakes, the aquatic weed entangles boat propellers, crowds out native plant species, inhibits water flow and, possibly, degrades water quality. Now that it has invaded Lake Tahoe, researchers are studying its impact. Found mostly at near-shore locations and in the South Lake Tahoe Keys areas, the weed is believed to deteriorate water quality by acting as a straw, drawing up phosphorus, which the plant then makes available to other aquatic organisms, enhancing algal growth. Graduate researcher Katey Walter of the UC Davis Tahoe Research Group explains that the weed takes up far more phosphorus than native Sierra Nevada lake plants. In the fall, when colder water temperatures prompt the perennial weed to go dormant, bacteria degrading the plant's tissues deplete oxygen from the lake's water, also a concern to researchers. This UC Davis study is the first to examine the impact of weed on water quality in Lake Tahoe. It fits into the Tahoe Research Group's overall quest to determine more about the forces that are dramatically reducing the lake's clarity and quality.
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National Food Safety Education Month
Toxicologist Carl Winter, director of the FoodSafe Program, Department of Food Science & Technology, debuted songs from his new CD at this summer's Institute of Food Technologists' annual meeting in Chicago. The new collection, titled "Sanitized for Your Consumption: A Menu of Musical Morsels," includes a musical reminder to avoid food-related illnesses by thoroughly cooking meat. A serious scientist, Winter has performed his songs at numerous professional meetings and in university classes. His first compact disc, "Stayin' Alive: A Hearty Helping of Food Follies and Science Serenades," was released in 1998. "In this era of nanosecond attention spans and education via entertainment, I've found that the musical approach successfully reaches audiences that don't respond well to traditional methods of education," Winter said.
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Development Highlight
Dr. Aaron A. Hofmann, Department of Orthopedics, University of Utah School of Medicine, made an in-kind gift of equipment and furnishings associated with a brew-on-premises brewery (Brewmakers Pub) in Mountain View in support of the Anheuser-Busch Endowed Chair in Malting and Brewing Science in the Department of Food Science & Technology. The plant was determined to be too large to use as the campus pilot brewery, but many valuable components of Brewmakers were used on and off campus, including in the Department of Viticulture & Enology. Surplus items were sold, and the proceeds will be used to help construct the pilot brewery. The value of the equipment to campus departments and programs is in excess of $100,000.
Rick A. Swantz
Director of Development
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
raswantz@ucdavis.edu
(530) 752-7961
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Call for Exchange Proposals
The Center for Advanced Studies in Nutrition and Social Marketing is soliciting applications to promote the prevention of cancer through dietary behavior and increased physical activity in populations or communities in California. Eligible proposals would include research-based, demonstration and intervention projects focused on community-level interventions which can enhance the social marketing nutrition campaigns of the California Department of Health Services. Proposals are being solicited from UC Davis researchers or other researchers working in collaboration with UC Davis; graduate students; and CDHS-related projects and contractors. Community-based programs also will be considered. Multidisciplinary perspectives and university-community partnerships are encouraged. Letters of intent deadline: October 1, 1999. Proposal deadline: November 17, 1999
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RFP: Genetic Resources Conservation Program
The Genetic Resources Conservation Program, a UC program of the Office of the President, DANR, continues to provide short-term assistance in the conservation of imperiled living collections of genetic resources and genetic stocks critical to California. Such assistance is in the form of grants to individuals who have responsibility for collections of genetic materials that are in danger of being lost or are in need of attention to be safely conserved, documented and made available for research or other uses.
More information is availableonline
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RFP: Center for Advanced Studies in Nutrition and Social Marketing
The Center for Advanced Studies in Nutrition and Social Marketing is soliciting applications to promote the prevention of cancer through dietary behavior and increased physical activity in populations or communities in California. Eligible proposals would include research-based, demonstration and intervention projects focused on community-level interventions which can enhance the social marketing nutrition campaigns of the California Department of Health Services. Proposals are being solicited from UC Davis researchers or other researchers working in collaboration with UC Davis; graduate students; and CDHS-related projects and contractors. Community-based programs also will be considered. Multidisciplinary perspectives and university-community partnerships are encouraged. Letters of intent deadline: October 1, 1999. Proposal deadline: November 17, 1999
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Clarification: Farm Safety Regulation Story
In the September 3, 1999, issue of CA&ES Currents, a story highlighted efforts made by Barry Wilson of the Departments of Animal Science and Environmental Toxicology resulting in changes in the California regulations for monitoring farm workers for pesticide exposure. Wilson asked us to clarify the roles of individuals involved in the story Wilson, California staff toxicologist Jim Sanborn, physician Michael O'Malley and UC Davis students and staff found that commercial chemical kits used by clinical laboratories to measure blood cholinesterases were 40 percent or more below the optimum. The state requires that these blood enzymes be used to monitor pesticide applicators, mixer loaders and farm workers using organophosphate and carbamate pesticides. Findings have led to new guidelines for blood testing. The study was singled out by Kenneth Olden, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health, in a report to Congress outlining how research discoveries are applied to help society.
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Visit CA&ES Currents online at http://caes.ucdavis.edu/NewsEvents/News/Currents/default.aspx
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CA&ES Currents, the faculty/staff newsletter of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis, is distributed every other Friday. News deadline is noon Monday preceding Friday publication. Send inquiries to Ann Filmer, afilmer@ucdavis.edu
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Issue Editor:
Rhoda McKnight
(530) 752-9328
Contributors: Donna Gutierrez, Thomas Kaiser, Susan Kancir, Rhoda McKnight, Neal Van Alfen, John Weston.
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