UF/IFAS study: Forget the queen, kill the brood to eliminate subterranean termite colonies
By Lourdes Mederos UF/IFAS DAVIE, Fla – Taking an extended look inside a subterranean termite colony is a rare and almost non-existent opportunity unless you raise one. But scientists like Thomas Chouvenc rear colonies from a king and queen, allowing them to produce thousands of eggs that grow to full maturity. In doing so, Chouvenc sheds a... Read More
Dengue’s Dance: Host Immunity Drives Viral Evolution
DeLene Beeland UF EPI New research by a team of University of Florida investigators, and others, provides evidence that host immunity drives evolution of the dengue virus. The work, published Nov. 18 in Science, retrospectively analyzes two decades of dengue virus genetic variation from Thailand, alongside population-level measures of infection and immunity. There are four... Read More
Some Nonnative Fish That are Released into Lakes and Rivers Thrive in Florida; Alter Ecosystem
By Brad Buck UF/IFAS RUSKIN, Fla. — Nonnative fish eat away at the banks of rivers and lakes – one reason University of Florida researchers caution people not to release unwanted fish. People sometimes put fish from their aquariums into nearby waterways. Each year, nonnative species can cause $120 billion in damages in the United... Read More
Hippos’ Constant Defecating Turns African Pools into Communal Guts
Lauren Barnett UF CLAS Hippopotamuses can eat nearly 100 pounds of food daily — and, as a result, they fill the pools where they spend much of their lives with huge amounts of poop. All that excrement, new research has found, turns the pools into extensions of the hippos’ guts, as bacteria and other microbes... Read More
Hot Tumors: The Turbo Engine That Immunotherapy Needed
by Maja Aganovic UF Innovate Immunotherapy is a hot topic of conversation when it comes to cancer treatment. Pediatric oncologist Dr. Elias Sayour and his team have found a way to make a hot tumor, their way to make immunotherapy, an alternative to chemotherapy, more effective. “I spend the bulk of my time doing research, 80 percent... Read More
UF Study: Consumers like Shelved Tomato Juice More than a Refrigerated Product
by Brad Buck UF/IFAS Tempted by the tangy taste of tomato juice? Consumers may prefer a product sold from grocery store shelves over a minimally pasteurized refrigerated product, but only by a small margin, new University of Florida research shows. Researchers at the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences made four types of tomato juice,... Read More