In the past, people thought that salt boosted health- so much so that the Latin word for “health”- “salus”- was derived from “sal,” the word for salt. In medieval times, salt was prescribed to treat a multitude of conditions, including toothaches, stomachaches and “heaviness of mind.”… “We humans eat more salt than is necessary. But we all do it. So the question is: Why?” says Paul Breslin, a professor of nutritional sciences who researches sodium appetite at New Jersey’s Rutgers University… Breslin believes there may be another evolution-based reason why we love salt: “Salt accelerates sexual maturation in animal models, resulting in more offspring,” he says.
Archives for May 2015
Paterson’s School 5 Site of Rainwater Harvesting Experiment
Students at School 5 will be using a newly-installed cistern to water their Elysian Fields garden as a part of a “green” demonstration project… The cistern will catch rainwater that the students later will pump into the garden under the project, which is happening through a partnership between the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission and the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program… Officials from the Sewerage Commission and Rutgers Cooperative gathered with School 5 students on Monday to launch the project.
Time to ‘Plant Something,’ NJ Landscapers Say
Dominick Mondi, executive director of the New Jersey Nursey & Landscape Association says sure, your place will look prettier but there are other reasons to plant things around your home… Mondi said thanks to a grant from the USDA, this is first year the state has had the opportunity to really roll out the “Plant Something” initiative here in New Jersey… The New Jersey Nursery & Landscape Association has built an informational website, plantsomethingnj.org, for residents to learn, research and find professionals. Mondi said they are a few months into the launch of the website. “We have fact sheets from Rutgers University Extension posted on there, as well as information from other sources,” he said.
Tips on How to Survive the Pollen Explosion This Spring
This article was written by Leonard Bielory, M.D., an allergy specialist with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Rutgers University… The month of May brings with it two things: Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month, and the official emergence o…
State DEP Continues to Stall Release of Long-Overdue Draft Water-Supply Plan
Increasingly frustrated with the Christie administration for not releasing the latest draft of a water-supply plan developed three years ago, the state’s Water Supply Advisory Council once again called on the state DEP to release some of its findings so the council can get down to business… Dan Van Abs, a Rutgers professor who is a technical adviser to the Council, said New Jersey’s projected population by 2040 has risen sharply, mostly because of immigration, to 10.4 million from 8.9 million at the time of the last Water Supply Plan in 1996, and so the updated document needs to reflect that. Van Abs also is an NJ Spotlight columnist… The previous report contained a series of revisions based on the one previous edition, in 1982, Van Abs said. By contrast, the new document, whenever it is issued, will not reflect periodical updates. “That process did not continue,” he said.
SEBS Students Awarded at Aresty Undergraduate Research Symposium
Each spring, the Aresty Research Center evaluates poster presentations at its university-wide Undergraduate Research Symposium. A celebration of scholarship and creative activity, the symposium is a chance for undergraduates to present a paper or poster on their findings to an audience of faculty, peers, and corporate and community partners. For 2015, the symposium was held […]
Rutgers Professor Visits Local Preschool
Barbara O’Neill, a CFP, Distinguished Professor and Specialist in Financial Resource Management at Rutgers Cooperative Extension, recently paid a visit to the preschool classroom at the Little Sprouts Early Learning Center to read several children’s bo…
Will declining funding stunt scientific discovery in the U.S.?
As federal funding for biomedical research has been declining in real dollars over the past 13 years, getting a grant for many scientists who depend on government money has become more difficult. Now, many say this hypercompetitive atmosphere may stunt…
A Special Jersey-bred Fruit is Berry, Berry Good
At Specca Farms in Burlington County, Bill Hlubik stooped down in a large furrowed field, picked a plump red strawberry and took a bite. “That’s the best berry I’ve had in my life, and I’m not just saying that,” he said enthusiastically. Hlubik, a professor and agricultural agent for Rutgers Cooperative Extension, ought to know… Local farmers grow berries bred for conditions in California, where plants produce fruit that can withstand shipping across the country. But they aren’t well-suited for Northeast winters and spring temperature fluctuations. What’s more, their taste isn’t what it could be… So a team of researchers including a Rutgers food scientist, plant biologist, and agricultural agents began working to develop a strawberry that would thrive in New Jersey and strike a better balance between sweetness and acidity.
Betting on Nature to Solve the Bee Crisis
Simpelaar is one of hundreds of farmers turning to wild bees after nearly a decade of federally funded research failed to identify a solution or even a definitive cause for colony collapse, blamed on a variety of causes including pesticides and mites. A study released on May 13 by the government-funded Bee Informed Partnership showed winter losses in commercial bee colonies slowed this year to 23 percent from an average of 29 percent, but a spike in summer deaths pushed losses from April 2014 through this past March to 42 percent, the second-highest on record… With at least $15 billion in U.S. crops dependent on commercially raised honeybees, the government has allocated about $40 million a year to study the insects and other pollinators such as birds and bats, four times the 2006 level. What entomologists have found is that growers of some orchard and vine crops may not need commercial bee services at all. Wild bee species including bumblebees and blue orchard bees nest alone rather than in hives. “We have real good evidence that native bees are more effective for some crops, including apples and squash,” says Rachael Winfree, an entomologist at Rutgers University. “But they get no credit. No one raises them. They live on the margins.”