“This new tool will help speed up transportation projects while beefing up environmental stewardship.”
Category » New Terrain
January 23, 2013
The Road to Ecosystem Safeguards
Unsnarling the regulatory tangle in transportation planning
January 23, 2013
Twice the Rice
Adding vitamin B1 may boost nutrition and immunity
A new breed of rice could fend off crop-damaging diseases and improve human health at the same time.
January 23, 2013
The Hidden Dangers of Flame Retardants
Chemicals may harm brain development in young children
Your old sofa, as comfy as it is, could be a hazard to your children’s health.
October 12, 2012
Staph Attack
Vitamin therapy shows promise in treating "superbug"
Deadly staph infections may have a potent new foe: Vitamin B3. Megadoses of the vitamin can help the immune system fight the superbug MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus), researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, OSU’s Linus Pauling Institute and other institutions have found. The findings could lead to new treatment options for health officials who have [...]
October 10, 2012
Spinrad to Lead Ocean-Observing Group
Committee advises federal policymakers
Oregon State’s vice president for research, Rick Spinrad, has been tapped to chair a federal committee on ocean observing systems. The 13 marine scientists, conservationists and industry stakeholders will advise the Integrated Ocean Observation System, as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), on data collection, management and technological innovation. As a former [...]
October 10, 2012
Eco-roofs and Earthquakes
Research will guide new structural standards
Growing greenery on roofs brings many benefits. Buildings stay cooler, saving energy. Roofs last longer, saving money and materials. Birds and insects find new habitat, helping ecosystems. And green roofs make urban spaces more aesthetically and spiritually pleasing, as well as reducing heat-island effects for city dwellers. But there are some costs that need to [...]
October 10, 2012
Contributing to the Mars Mission
NASA's quest for signs of life on Mars got a boost when Curiosity landed on the Red Planet
NASA’s quest for signs of life on Mars got a huge boost in August when Curiosity landed on the Red Planet.
February 21, 2012
Taking stock of wave energy
Researchers make preparations for an emerging industry
These are the formative years of a West Coast wave energy industry, and scientists are working with businesses, communities and policymakers to gather environmental data, test new technologies and consider the options. Their work is coordinated through the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC), a partnership between Oregon State University and the University of [...]
June 8, 2011
Free-Choice Science
Study confirms benefits of learning centers, museums
In a world confronted with greenhouse gases, emergent diseases, energy shortages, natural disasters, habitat loss, species extinctions and a thousand other urgent issues, public understanding of science is more essential than ever. Now, an OSU study reveals a powerful vehicle for enhancing science literacy in local communities: science museums. Science museums like the Oregon Museum [...]
February 1, 2011
New Courses Explore Ocean Cultures
Centuries before modern science, humans traveled, exploited, contemplated and celebrated the seas as explorers, fishermen, whalers, merchants, poets, storytellers, musicians and philosophers. Two new courses sponsored by OSU’s Spring Creek Program and Environmental Leadership Institute will delve into this ancient human-ocean relationship. Inspired by the university’s upcoming symposium, Song for the Blue Ocean: Science, Art [...]
February 1, 2011
Shellfish on Acid
How will acidic water affect Oregon's shellfish industry?
“O Oysters,” said the Carpenter, “You’ve had a pleasant run! Shall we be trotting home again?” But answer came there none — And this was scarcely odd, because They’d eaten every one. — Lewis Carroll The Walrus and the Carpenter Whether or not you’re a fan of gulping down raw oysters doused with Tabasco, recent [...]
February 1, 2011
Winter Storms Lead to Spring Bloom
New hypothesis supported by satellites and waterborne sensors
If you separate predators from their prey, you get more prey. Now that simple relationship has been used to explain one of the most important annual events in the ocean: the North Atlantic spring phytoplankton bloom. Since the 19th century, oceanographers have sought to explain its origins and have settled on the wintertime mixing of [...]
November 20, 2010
The Greening of Wood Products
Wood composites offer resilience, efficiency and strength.
November 20, 2010
Spin-Offs Boost Oregon’s Economy
Young companies based on research at OSU are attracting investment capital and creating job.
November 20, 2010
Linking Climate Sciences and Society
Northwest universities team up to serve regional needs
The Oregon Climate Change Research Institute will lead efforts to assist government agencies and the public.
November 20, 2010
Neil Shay to Lead OSU’s Wine Institute
A molecular biologist who makes wine from his own grapes will lead research to support Oregon’s wine industry.
April 24, 2010
Oceanographer to Take Research Helm
Richard “Rick” Spinrad, who has overseen national research initiatives from leadership positions in the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Navy, will join OSU in July as vice president for research. Spinrad earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. at OSU in the 1970s and 1980s. He returns to Oregon with a wealth [...]
April 24, 2010
Fending Off a Fruit Menace
Extension videos teach you how to trap and identify the spotted wing Drosophila It’s a pest not much bigger than the head of a pin. But for Oregon farmers, the tiny fruit fly has the potential to take a giant bite out of yields — and profits. The spotted wing Drosophila has made its way [...]
April 24, 2010
Preview of Coming Attractions
After Chile, Oregon prepares for Big One
March 15, 2010: “The Bridge Team’s goal for today was to determine the geographical extent of bridge damage from the Chilean earthquakes. We did this by driving nearly 450 miles south along Route 5 (the Pan American Highway) from Santiago to Temuco, keeping along the outer edge of the zone of strong shaking (about 50 [...]
April 24, 2010
Reserve for Rockfish
Policy and science in Port Orford
Redfish Rocks is home to a diverse collection of marine species — and to a unique collaboration among fishermen, university scientists and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. The jagged reef off the shores of Port Orford, one of two pilot sites in Oregon’s developing marine reserve network, was established by coastal residents who [...]
April 17, 2010
OSU Scholars Archive Ranks Among World’s Best
ScholarsArchive@OSU, a digital archive for scholarly writings, rates among the top institutional repositories in the world. Achieving its highest ratings yet in January 2010, OSU came in fourth nationally and 16th internationally on Web-o-Metrics Institutional Repository rankings. Only three U.S. universities — MIT (which designed the repository software), Michigan and Tufts — outranked Oregon State. [...]
February 22, 2010
Redrawing the Map
Scientists and fishermen team up to find seafloor hazards and habitats
Maps of Oregon’s territorial sea are due for an upgrade.
February 22, 2010
Two Business Startups Get Boost from OSU Fund
An innovative tax credit program aimed at fast-tracking commercialization of university research stands as a bright spot in Oregon’s sputtering economy.
February 22, 2010
Stimulating Research
Oregon State University research projects are receiving a stimulus boost through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)
February 22, 2010
Regulating Immunity: Toxicologists seek novel gene therapies
Dioxin, the chemical pollutant made infamous by Vietnam-era defoliant Agent Orange, has long been known to suppress immune function in humans and other animals. Surprisingly, this dangerous side effect has a scientific silver lining. While studying the toxin’s health effects, researchers discovered the genetic pathway to immune system malfunction. For people who would actually benefit [...]
February 22, 2010
Blue Hue
An accidental discovery has produced a new non-toxic blue pigment
An ancient quest for the perfect blue ended in a hot furnace in OSU’s Department of Chemistry — totally by accident. A blue pigment that is both safe and stable eluded the Egyptians, the Han Dynasty and the Mayans. The French developed cobalt blue in the 1800s, but it contains carcinogens. Prussian blue releases cyanide. [...]
February 22, 2010
Girding the Grid: Engineers rethink power storage for wind
As wind turbines and solar arrays sprout up across the landscape, an urgent challenge arises: How to capture all that alternative energy for the electrical grid. Wind velocity and solar intensity vary wildly as weather changes and as seasons shift — fluctuations that are often out of sync with power demand. With $399,973 in funding [...]
April 24, 2009
Building Materials for Sustainability
In the burgeoning green building sector, Oregon is poised to become a national leader. A new R&D partnership forged with cross-university linkages positions the state as a major powerhouse in sustainable materials, technologies and designs. Oregon BEST (Built Environment and Sustainable Technologies Center) has pulled together $1.6 million in multi-source funding to infuse and expand [...]
April 24, 2009
Buzz About New Honeybee Specialist
Ramesh Sagili arrived in Corvallis in February to start a honeybee research program targeting mites, pesticides, stress and nutrition. The new OSU bee specialist is part of an initiative to help ensure that there are enough healthy honeybees to pollinate Oregon’s crops. Sagili says Varroa mites, nutritional deficiencies or other factors might be the cause [...]
April 24, 2009
On the Trail of America’s First People
Along the Oregon coast, in Idaho’s Salmon River canyon and in Baja California, Loren Davis has searched for signs of North America’s earliest inhabitants. His work along the southern Oregon coast has pushed back documented occupation of this area by 1,500 years. Now, the OSU archaeologist will take a deeper look into the inland and [...]
