Investigating a possible method for eliminating the toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, is the objective of a new National Science Foundation-funded study led by Onur Apul from the University of Maine. NSF awarded $250,000 for Apul, an assistant professor of environmental engineering, to research how to remove PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals”, […]
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A natural control for an invasive fly that has plagued soft-fruit crops like Maine’s wild blueberries is being tested by scientists at the University of Maine. Spotted wing drosophila (SWD) infest healthy, ripening fruit with their eggs and larvae, impacting their marketability. Without control measures, the flies can destroy nearly 80% of late-season berry crops. […]
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The University of Maine Native American Programs and UMaine Extension have hired Tony Sutton as assistant professor of Native American Food Systems. Sutton’s position will focus on Native American food systems and sovereignty, building on relationships established with the Tribes and grants and programs developed in Native American Programs. Sutton moved to Maine from Oregon […]
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Investigating how a common antibacterial ingredient in many foods, personal care, and cleaning products inhibits immune cell function that is harmful to human health is the focus of a National Institutes of Health-funded study at the University of Maine. In a recent study co-authored by toxicologist Julie Gosse, a UMaine associate professor of biochemistry, her […]
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The University of Maine is once again offering Research Learning Experiences — courses that allow first- and second-year students to engage in research and other forms of hands-on learning at the start of their college careers — this fall. About 400 students signed up to participate in UMaine’s 24 distinct RLEs, 21 for first-year students […]
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A little over a year ago, University of Maine College of Education and Human Development dean Penny Bishop got an email from Maya Gunawardena, an assistant professor of teacher education at the University of Canberra in Australia. Gunawardena was diving into her latest research passion — personalized learning — exploring how teachers can use lessons […]
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Face masks have been an indelible part of the COVID-19 pandemic. Examining how, where and of what face masks were made can provide insight to how the personal protective equipment impacted — or was impacted by — the society around it. A study published by new faculty Matthew and Natalia Magnani in the Department of […]
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Editor’s note: Intermedia students’ nanocellulose art will be on public display on Aug. 24 from 4:30–6:30 p.m. at the Wells Conference Center. Nanocellulose is a malleable material. In a mixture that is 97% water, nanocellulose looks like yogurt or paste. When freeze-dried, it has the consistency of Styrofoam. Fully dried, it’s like a plastic tile. […]
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The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $661,462 Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant to the University of Maine to upgrade a multiuser instrument in the Climate Change Institute. Over the last two decades, the University of Maine Climate Change Institute’s ICP-MS facility has conducted valuable climate, environmental, ecosystem and engineering research and training across the […]
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Nils Haëntjens, research assistant professor in the University of Maine’s School of Marine Sciences, has just returned from a two-week trip to the North Pole to study phytoplankton distributions in relation to sea ice properties on-board the cruise vessel Le Commandant Charcot. The vessel, which is also an ice breaker, was on its first voyage with passengers […]
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