RNA plays several distinct roles in promoting or suppressing the expression of particular genes. In particular, certain RNA strands, called enhancer RNA (eRNA), are thought to promote gene expression rather than coding for protein production themselves. The regulation of RNA and its role in human disease are not fully understood. To identify factors that alter RNA expression, it is critical to…
David Esparza is a doctoral candidate in ecology and evolutionary biology (EEB) from El Paso, Texas. After attending the University of Texas at El Paso as an undergraduate, he chose to pursue further study at Cornell due to its commitment to evidence-based teaching methods and the EEB field’s culture.
What is your area of research and why is it important?
I am a biology education researcher…
Many plastics require an ultrapure concentration of olefins, a type of unsaturated hydrocarbon molecule, for their production. Current technologies supply olefins for plastic production through an inefficient and energy-demanding process: Small differences in the physical properties of the components of an olefin-containing mixture, such as olefins-paraffins or olefin isomers, are used as a means…
New research shows that 9.8 feet (3 meters) of social distancing are not enough to ensure protection from Covid-19. Even at that distance, it takes less than five minutes for an unvaccinated person standing in the breath of a person with Covid-19 to become infected with almost 100% certainty.
That’s the bad news.
The good news is that if both people are wearing well-fitting medical masks,…
For your reading pleasure, we gathered 21 recommendations from faculty in the College of Arts & Sciences for the best books and poetry to read in 2022. Enjoy!
Anindita Banerjee, associate professor, Department of Comparative Literature
My recommendation would be Yevgeny Zamyatin's novel “We.” Written in Russian in 1921, first published in English in New York City in 1924, and re…
Garrett Emmons '23 and Hannah Master '23 have each been awarded a Harry Caplan Travel Fellowship worth $5,000 to study and conduct research in Italy and Israel, respectively.
Emmons, a Classics and Economics double major, will participate in the Marzuolo Archaeological Project investigating the rural craft site of Podere Marzuolo in southern Tuscany (Italy), which was occupied between the…
A new study shows more U.S. adults who do not already have children are saying they are unlikely to ever have them — findings that could draw renewed attention to the risks of declining birthrates for industrialized nations.
Vida Maralani is an associate professor of sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences whose research is distinctive for bringing demography to bear on the study of…
Photo by Barbara Zandoval on Unsplash
Tijuana border wall.
President Joe Biden will meet Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at the White House this week to discuss the continued flow of migrants over the U.S.-Mexico border, trade, labor and other issues.
Gustavo Flores-Macías, associate professor of government in the College of Arts & Sciences and the former director of public affairs in Mexico…
President Biden is expected to sign a $1 trillion infrastructure bill on Monday that will funnel money to a wide range of infrastructure initiatives including transportation, climate resilience, internet connectivity and water — an area long-neglected and where there is deep distrust.
Jerel Ezell, assistant professor of Africana studies, is an expert in health disparities and social…
Mark Stewart, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Xi giving a speech at the U.S. Department of State in 2012, with then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and then Vice-President Joe Biden in the background. Seated in the front row is former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a virtual summit on Monday evening amid rising tensions between the countries.
Allen Carlson is an associate professor of government and expert on U.S.-China relations. He said a flurry of diplomatic pleasantries is unlikely to extend to the three most contentious and intractable issues between the U.S. and China.
“Many…
Groubani at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons
Ethiopia highlighted on map of African continent.
The yearlong war in Ethiopia appears to be escalating. The government has declared a national state of emergency as rival forces threaten to move on the capital, and on Nov. 3 the findings of a human rights investigation in the blockaded Tigray region will be released.
Oumar Ba, assistant professor of government in the College of Arts & Sciences, studies law, violence, race, humanity, and…
President Martha E. Pollack sent the following message Nov. 1:
Over the past year and a half, despite the energy and attention necessarily directed toward the pandemic, Cornell has continued to move forward in our mission of teaching, research, and engagement. As we settle into the Ithaca autumn, I am writing to share some updates from across our remarkable community.
Academic…
Russia’s climate negotiators are expected to seek sanctions relief for green energy projects during next month’s climate summit in Scotland. This includes relief for state-run energy companies like Gazprom, which has been targeted by sanctions following Russia’s annexation of Crimea and has pursued the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany.
Russia’s demand to sever sanctions from…
Princess Mako during the New Year Greeting 2015 at the Tokyo Imperial Palace.
After intense scrutiny, Princess Mako of Japan married longtime partner Kei Komuro this week, giving up her status as a member of the imperial family.
Kristin Roebuck, assistant professor of history in the College of Arts and Sciences, is a historian of modern Japan and is writing a book entitled “Japan Reborn: Race and the Family of Nations after World War II.” She says the Imperial Household…
Disability justice advocate Eli Clare has been chosen as a Distinguished Visiting Collaborator in the Central New York Humanities Corridor, and he will be hosted for two virtual talks by the Cornell Society for the Humanities in partnership with the Syracuse University Humanities Center.
“Eli Clare is a writer, an activist and a traveling poet and storyteller. His critical work on disability,…
The White House released its report on climate change and migration this week, focusing on the drivers of migration due to climate pressure and the U.S. role in working with the international community to address it.
Maria Cristina Garcia, Howard A. Newman Professor of American Studies, is an expert on U.S. migration and refugees, and is currently completing a book on the…
President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats continue to negotiate the details of a domestic policy plan this week that will require the support of all 50 Democrats in the Senate. Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have continued to resist the price tag and breadth of the bill.
David Bateman, professor of government in the College of Arts & Sciences, is an expert on…
The House Committee tasked with investigating events of Jan. 6 attack is expected to find Stephen Bannon, former adviser to President Donald Trump, in contempt of Congress this week. Bannon has refused to comply with a subpoena issued by the Committee, citing executive privilege.
Doug Kriner, professor of government at Cornell University and author of the book “Investigating the President:…
Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash
Lady Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is hearing a case brought by Armenia accusing Azerbaijan of racial discrimination. Among several requests, the country is seeking the protection of Armenian cultural heritage sites in Nagorno-Karabakh now under Azerbaijan’s jurisdiction as a result of the ceasefire ending the 2020 war.
Cornell University researchers Adam Smith and Lori Khatchadourian…
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, H. Bond (STScI) and M. Barstow (University of Leicester)
White dwarf Sirius B. This burned-out stellar remnant is a faint companion to the brilliant blue-white Dog Star, Sirius, located in the winter constellation Canis Major.
Astronomers have discovered a Jupiter-sized planet that survived its star’s death. Known as MOA-2010-BLG-477Lb, the planet orbits a white dwarf some 6,500 light years from here, potentially offering a glimpse into our cosmic future. The researchers reported the new discovery in the journal, Nature.
Lisa Kaltenegger, who was not involved in the study, is director of Cornell’s Carl Sagan…
A new report shows French clergy sexually abused more than 200,000 children over the past 70 years. Most of the victims of abuse were boys between the ages of 10 and 13.
Kim Haines-Eitzen, the Paul and Berthe Hendrix Memorial Professor in the Department of Near Eastern Studies in the College of Arts & Sciences, says while the report is shocking, it is representative of a long history…
The life and work of James Edward Oliver, a passionate supporter of women’s suffrage and a nationally recognized mathematician, will be celebrated in an evening of talks on Oct. 14. Laurent Saloff-Coste, the Abram R. Bullis Professor of Mathematics in College of Arts and Sciences (A&S); Carol Kammen, Tompkins County Historian and retired Cornell professor of history (A&S); and…
The Second Wave Women’s Liberation Movement gave birth to feminist theatre, bringing its rallying cry — “the personal is political” — to the stage. Through content and form, feminist theatre groups built community and claimed space for women’s voices and experiences to be heard.
In a Sept. 30 webinar, "The Personal is Still Political:" The Evolution of Feminist Theatre, participants will learn…
Photo by Christian Lue on Unsplash
German flag on top of Berlin Reichstag
Preliminary results of Germany’s federal election are in, and the left-leaning Social Democratic Party has narrowly won the largest share of parliamentary seats.
Mabel Berezin, a comparative sociologist whose research lies at the intersection of cultural and political sociology, says lost in the analysis of the election results is the political entrenchment of the extreme right-wing party.
…
A startup that makes cultured mozzarella and ricotta cheeses without cows recently received record funding from investors looking to tap the growing market for environmentally friendly dairy alternatives.
Adrienne Bitar, lecturer in American studies, specializes in the history and culture of American food. She says:
“Plant-based and cultivated (or “lab-grown”) alternatives to animal…
Ngoc Truong is a doctoral candidate in geological sciences from Hanoi, Vietnam. After attending the University of Science and Technology of Hanoi as an undergraduate, he chose to pursue further study at Cornell due to its tradition of involvement with spacecraft missions. Truong’s recent research on volcanic activity on Venus was picked up by numerous news sources, including The Atlantic.
What…
As evacuations continue from Afghanistan, the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed that two suicide bombers detonated in Kabul today, killing at least 12 U.S. service members.
David Silbey, adjunct associate professor of history, studies wars of the 20th century and the asymmetric responses (guerrilla warfare, insurgency and terrorism) to the wars that evolved after 1945. He recently published…
Hannah Cole is a doctoral candidate in comparative literature from Glastonbury, Connecticut. After attending Brown University as an undergraduate, she chose to pursue further study at Cornell due to the freedom to explore interdisciplinary interests through the comparative literature program as well as its faculty.
What is your area of research and why is it important?
I study…
Rational functions are a mainstay of computational mathematics. As a result of recent breakthroughs, however, rational functions are now poised to become a central computational mathematics tool.
With this CAREER award, Alex Townsend, the Goenka Family Assistant Professor of Mathematics, is pursuing two distinct aims related to the use of rational functions in computation. The first part of…
Researchers working in the areas of machine learning and artificial intelligence trust international and scientific organizations the most to shape the development and use of AI in the public interest.
But who do they trust the least? National militaries, Chinese tech companies and Facebook.
Those are some of the results of a new study led by Baobao Zhang, a Klarman postdoctoral fellow…
Ekaterina Landgren is a doctoral candidate in applied mathematics from Moscow, Russia. After majoring in applied mathematics and philosophy as an undergraduate at Brown University, she chose to pursue further study at Cornell due to the program’s community feel and encouragement of interdisciplinary research.
What is your area of research and why is it important?
My research is in the…
Willingness to get a COVID-19 vaccine was considerably higher in developing countries (80% of respondents) than in the United States (65%) and Russia (30%), according to new research published July 16 in Nature Medicine.
The study provides one of the first insights into vaccine acceptance and hesitancy in a broad selection of low- and middle-income countries, covering more than 20,000…
Samantha N. Sheppard, associate professor of performing and media arts, has been named a 2021 Academy Film Scholar by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The annual grant is given to established scholars whose projects are focused on some aspect of filmmaking and the film industry. She will receive $25,000 to complete her book project, “A Black W/hole: Phantom Cinemas and…
Lingzi Zhuang is a doctoral candidate in linguistics with a minor in cognitive science from Maanshan, a small city in Anhui, China, and Shanghai. After earning an undergraduate degree at Columbia University, he chose to pursue further study at Cornell due to the linguistics program, program offerings, and feeling of community.
What is your area of research and why is it important?
I do…
Claude Truong-Ngoc /Wikimedia Commons
Marine Le Pen
France will hold regional elections on June 20, a vote that could serve as an early indicator of what may come in the 2022 presidential election.
Mabel Berezin, professor of sociology at Cornell University and an expert on international populism and fascism, says that current trends favor right-wing leader Marine Le Pen, and victories for her party in regional elections would cause French…
The European Union’s privacy watchdog has opened two investigations into EU institutions’ use of cloud computing services offered by Amazon and Microsoft. The watchdog, known as the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) is concerned about the personal data of Europeans being transferred to the United States.
Sarah Kreps, a professor of government, studies technology, international…
Stella Ocker is a doctoral candidate in astronomy and space sciences from San Anselmo, California. After attending Oberlin College in Ohio as an undergraduate, she chose to pursue further study at Cornell due to the intellectually rigorous research and supportive environment offered.
What is your area of research and why is it important?
I study the interstellar medium (ISM), all of the gas…
Charlotte Logan is a doctoral student in linguistics from Syracuse, New York. After graduating from the University of Oklahoma as an undergraduate with a major in biochemistry and minor in Native American studies, she chose to pursue further study at Cornell due to its location in the Haudenosaunee homelands and the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program.
What is your area of research…
Valzhyna Mort, assistant professor of literatures in English, received the Rome Prize in Literature for 2021-2022.
Mort’s 2020 poetry collection “Music for the Dead and Resurrected” was named one of the best poetry books of 2020 by The New York Times and is shortlisted for the International Griffin Prize. Her previous collections include “Factory of Tears” and “Collected Body.” Mort’s work…
The National Endowment for the Arts has approved a $30,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to the Department of Music to support a musical response to Freedom on the Move (FOTM), a database housing digitized, searchable fugitive slave advertisements. The grant, co-written by Lucy Fitz Gibbon, interim director of the Vocal Program, and Martha Guth, Ithaca College, will provide foundational support…
The deadly clashes between Israelis and Palestinians are likely to continue this week, as the Israeli military deploys additional forces near the Gaza Strip.
Uriel Abulof, a visiting professor in Cornell University’s government department and professor at Tel-Aviv University, says the recent escalation in violence resulted in part from Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to…
Facebook’s Oversight Board voted to uphold the social media company’s suspension of former President Donald Trump on its platforms but insisted the company must review the suspension to determine an appropriate length of time and develop clearer policies to balance freedom of expression and public safety.
Sarah Kreps, a professor of government, studies technology, international politics and…
On Monday, the Biden administration announced a significant increase in the number of refugees allowed to enter the United States. The announcement comes as the administration also begins to reunite parents separated from their children under the Trump administration’s family separation policy.
Maria Cristina Garcia, professor of history and Latino studies, is an expert on U.S. migration and…
Cleaning our water to protect marine life
Pollution threatens our oceans, seas and waterways, as well as the many endangered species living there. Increasingly, plastic waste from homes and businesses ends up in water, and the commercial fishing industry contributes a significant amount from polymers in fishing gear.
To address the plastic environmental crisis, Cornell chemists have…
On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 51, a bill that would make the District of Columbia the 51st state.
David Bateman, professor of government at Cornell University, is an expert on congressional politics and author of the book, “Southern Nation: Congress and White Supremacy after Reconstruction.” He says while much of the critique of H.R. 51 is political, the bill…
On Tuesday, Derek Chauvin was convicted by a jury of killing George Floyd in an act of police violence on May 25, 2020.
Joe Margulies '82, professor of law and government at Cornell University, is a civil rights attorney and expert on criminal justice reform. He says the verdict in Chauvin’s case underscores that police should only respond to calls requiring an armed officer.
…
Jennifer Griffin/Unsplash
Chicago artist Mac Blackout's mural encouraging Americans to get out and vote.
On Wednesday, hundreds of companies’ executives joined in a new statement to call out Republican-sponsored voting bills that they say will curtail voting access in several American states. Republican leadership, including senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, have criticized corporate activism in the past, calling for businesses to “stay out of politics.”
Lawrence Glickman, professor…
Federal health agencies have recommended pausing the use of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine after six people developed blood clots within two weeks of receiving the one-shot vaccine.
Sarah Kreps and Doug Kriner, government professors at Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences, have surveyed nearly 2,000 American adults on issues regarding their willingness to get a vaccine. Barely…
