Research news from across the Cornell campuses and beyond
Cryo-imaging gives deeper view of thick biological materials
Researchers devised a new method to image intact bacterial cells and large organelle up to 500-800 nanometers thick – a roughly fivefold improvement over current methods.
Birds’ vocal warnings provide new insight into the origins of language
New research sheds light on the evolution of language, discovering a link between innate and learned vocalizations.
Sustainable practices could cut food-related emissions in half
Food systems make up roughly 30% of total greenhouse gas emissions globally. But transforming them could cut these emissions by more than half, according to a report released Oct. 3 from a commission of global experts.
NIH grant to fund autism research center
Investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell’s Ithaca campus will use a $5.1 million grant from the NIH to launch the Autism Replication, Validation, and Reproducibility Center, which aims to improve the reliability of autism research.
Political views, not sex and violence, now drive literary censorship
Liberals and conservatives both oppose censorship of children’s literature – unless the writing offends their own political ideology, showing how a once-bipartisan issue has become polarized.
Pain tolerance increases during social interaction in VR
Researchers in the Virtual Embodiment Lab found that engagement in social virtual reality, whether with loved ones or total strangers, enhances pain tolerance.
Physicist: After 33 billon years, universe ‘will end in a big crunch’
After expanding to its peak size about 11 billion years from now, the universe will begin to contract – snapping back like a rubber band to a single point at the end, according to a Cornell physicist.
Weill Institute to host 8th biennial symposium, Oct. 13–14
The Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology will bring together leading scientists from across the globe and across disciplines for its 8th Biennial Weill Institute Symposium, Oct. 13–14. The two-day program, taking place in Ithaca, NY., will showcase advances in molecular and cell biology research, while fostering opportunities for Cornell students and postdoctoral scholars to connect with internationally recognized leaders in the life sciences.
Cornell awarded NSF grant to build AI-ready living lab for agriculture
Cornell University has been awarded a portion of a $2 million planning initiative from the U.S. National Science Foundation to establish AI4Ag, a national testbed for artificial intelligence in agriculture.
Models feel hemmed in by AI
Using generative AI, fashion designers can use digital photos to adjust models’ features and even deploy fully digital avatars in place of humans. A team including an ILR School researcher has written a paper highlighting models’ challenges.
DNA Double Take
From biology class to “C.S.I.,” we are told again and again that our genome is at the heart of our identity. Read the sequences in the chromosomes of a single cell, and learn everything about a person’s genetic information — or, as 23andme, a prominent genetic testing company, says on its Web site, “The more you know about your DNA, the more you know about yourself.”
Scientists Capture Most Detailed Picture Yet of Key AIDS Protein
Collaborating scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and Weill Cornell Medical College have determined the first atomic-level structure of the tripartite HIV envelope protein — long considered one of the most difficult targets in structural biology and of great value for medical science's.
UNCF-Merck Undergraduate Science Research Scholarship
The United Negro College Fund and the Merck Company Foundation announce the availability of the UNCF/Merck Undergraduate Science Research Scholarship Awards.
A History of Science: Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source
Driving up Campus Road in the afternoon, you can see many varsity and club athletes practicing on Alumni Fields. But 40 feet underneath them and half a mile in circumference sits the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source.