• share
• favorite_border

Iowa State University researchers have used mold to convert corn fiber into ethanol. The discovery could turn byproducts of corn milling into another source of fuel.

• share
• favorite_border

If Iowans followed a diet of five servings of selected Iowa-grown fruit and vegetables each day for three months of the year, it could mean an additional $302 million in sales and more than 4,000 jobs added to the Iowa economy.

• share
• favorite_border

Iowa State University researchers will be chasing tornado data in the lab and across tornado alley. The goal is a better understanding of wind storms so engineers can design buildings that stand up to tornadoes, microburst thunderstorms, hurricanes and gust fronts.

• share
• favorite_border

Whirlpool Corp. announced May 10 that it would cut 4,500 jobs, close plants and consolidate offices, 40 days after completing its acquisition of Newton, Iowa-based Maytag Corp. Maytag's corporate HQ, research center and washer and dryer plants in Newton will close, as will factories in Illinois and Arkansas. Administrative offices in Illinois, Canada and Mexico also are slated to close.

• share
• favorite_border

For nearly 80 years, corn breeders and producers have taken advantage of hybrid vigor to grow high-yielding crops. Yet the biological process remains a scientific mystery. Iowa State plant scientists have uncovered a key to understanding the complex molecular mechanisms. The research was published in PNAS, May 2.

• share
• favorite_border

More than $4 million in equipment upgrades will shine 100 million pixels on Iowa State University's six-sided virtual reality room. That's twice the number of pixels lighting up any virtual reality room in the world. That means the C6 will produce virtual reality at the world's highest resolution.

• share
• favorite_border

Iowa State University physicists are working to help design and use massive particle detectors at the world's most powerful particle collider now being built in Europe.

• share
• favorite_border

Iowa State University's Brent Shanks is working to create chemical catalysts that would increase the yield of fermentable sugars from corn. That could boost ethanol production by 10 to 15 percent.

• share
• favorite_border

The FAPRI 2006 Agricultural Outlook projects expanding bio-energy and value-added markets and recovery in meat markets in the short term. The annual economic report presented to Congress March 2 is a set of 10-year projections for U.S. and international commodity markets.

• share
• favorite_border

Iowa State University researchers are studying how X-ray imaging and computer simulation modeling can help NASA engineers look for defects in layers of space shuttle foam.

• share
• favorite_border

Lee Anne Willson, a University Professor of physics and astronomy at Iowa State University, studies the stars that produce the kind of dust collected by NASA's stardust mission.

• share
• favorite_border

In October, the U.S. Trade Representative issued a proposal for ag trade reform in ongoing WTO negotiations. It includes radical changes in export competition, market access and domestic support, as well as significant tariff reductions or tariff rate quota expansions. The Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute has analyzed the impacts of this proposal on U.S. and world agriculture.

• share
• favorite_border

Dave Serfling manages a 350-acre crop and livestock farm in Minnesota. On Dec. 16, the full-time farmer will earn the master's he's been working on for 17 years through Iowa State University's distance education program.

• share
• favorite_border

Iowa State University's new Geotechnical Mobile Lab is a $350,000, one-of-a-kind laboratory-on-wheels. It will allow engineers to study construction sites right next to the heavy equipment doing all the dirty work. And it could help build better roads and reduce construction costs.

• share
• favorite_border

A new Iowa State University research center will bring together scientists and engineers to study how weather impacts transportation systems. That could lead to better and safer ways to travel when weather is a problem.

• share
• favorite_border

The Iowa State University Poultry Research Center is home to the world's oldest inbred research lines of chickens. With the potential that something could happen to wipe them out, germplasm was recently submitted to a USDA center so the lines are protected.

• share
• favorite_border

A plant scientist is leading a national research team to develop metabolomics as a tool for unlocking the functions of plant genes. They will test the feasibility of using metabolomics to decipher the biological function of 100 Arabidopsis genes whose function is unknown.

• share
• favorite_border

From finding spacecraft leaks to the latest in nanotechnology, Iowa State University scientists are working on 17 research projects for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers say partially burning some of the corn stalks, husks and cobs left in corn fields produces products that can be used to improve soil fertility, boost in-soil storage of greenhouse gases and reduce the amount of natural gas used to produce fertilizer.

• share
• favorite_border

Iowa State University researchers are building complex computer models of the U.S. energy system. The models will answer questions about the system's efficiency, infrastructure and sociology.

• share
• favorite_border

The 12-year-olds have heard it all before: "Don't play with matches." "Stop, drop and roll." "Get out and stay out." So how can firefighters get them to tune in to a safety talk? Use virtual reality to put the children in a computer-generated fire, says an Iowa State University researcher.

• share
• favorite_border

An Iowa State University researcher is working to stop invasions of zebra mussels, spiny water fleas and other exotic species that hitch rides in the ballast tanks of ships. The marine exotics can overwhelm native ecologies and cause billions in economic damage.

• share
• favorite_border

An Iowa State University researcher is using a high-tech instrument to identify and characterize the compounds that create livestock odor. He hopes the tool will lead to treatments that reduce the odor.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers developed a new surface patterning method to make carbohydrate chips for bioscreening. The method is based on a fluorous Teflon®-pan like surface interacting with fluorous-tagged compounds.

• share
• favorite_border

A new national center based at Iowa State University will bring together university researchers and industry professionals to solve information security problems so that information entrusted to companies stays confidential.

• share
• favorite_border

Iowa State University researchers are developing software that will analyze video of driver behavior at intersections. The ultimate goal is to produce better driver behavior and safer intersections.

• share
• favorite_border

Center for Portland Cement Concrete Pavement Technology at Iowa State University to lead research efforts to develop better, longer-lasting roads.

• share
• favorite_border

Cell phone charged? Joe Hynek and his Iowa State University collaborators are working to make wearable solar charging devices useful and pretty.

• share
• favorite_border

Iowa State University engineers have designed a high-tech system to protect the bridges of Madison County from vandals. The remote monitoring technology could be applied to other structures where security is an issue.

• share
• favorite_border

A $500,000 project to rebuild the Iowa Energy Center's 7-year-old biodiesel pilot plant is nearly complete. The Iowa State University-based energy center will help the biodiesel industry learn to use animal fats to produce biodiesel.

• share
• favorite_border

Jackie Shanks, a professor of chemical engineering at Iowa State University, is working to make periwinkle plants better producers of two chemotherapy drugs. She says chemical engineers and plant scientists can learn a lot together.

• share
• favorite_border

Iowa State University researchers take innovative bridge beam to the breaking point: 595,000 pounds of load. That's more than the weight of seven semi trucks.

• share
• favorite_border

Iowa State University researchers will use a $2.8 million grant from the Air Force to design a better way to control unmanned aerial vehicles. They think virtual reality is the answer.

• share
• favorite_border

Iowa State University researchers will see what it takes to break a 71-foot beam of ultra-high performance concrete. The breaking point is expected to be about 750,000 pounds. A similar beam will be used to build an Iowa bridge, the first time the new concrete will be used in a U.S. bridge.

• share
• favorite_border

Iowa State University X-ray flow visualization facility allows researchers to see and take X-ray images of liquids, solids and gases flowing through a system.

• share
• favorite_border

The last glacier to advance into Iowa left behind a system that is still cleaning Iowa groundwater. The system involves organic carbon, bacteria and nitrogen. And geologist William Simpkins said it could keep on cleaning for hundreds of years.

• share
• favorite_border

Farmers' markets may generate an estimated $20.8 million in sales and more than 325 jobs for the Iowa economy, according to an Iowa State University economic analysis.

• share
• favorite_border

Robert Lipert, an associate scientist at Iowa State University, has developed a technology capable of detecting biological weapons. "We've proven our ability to test for these nasties," said Chris Schoen, of Concurrent Analytical Inc. and a collaborator on the project.

• share
• favorite_border

Iowa State University landscape architect Mira Engler, author of the book, "Designing America's Waste Landscapes," recommends creative responses to the growing environmental problem of waste disposal. She challenges designers to design waste landscapes as integral, essential parts of life.

• share
• favorite_border

Taking FiFi and Fluffy on vacation is easier than it used to be, but still requires plenty of advance work, says an Iowa State University veterinarian. "It's really important to make a plan for your pet at the same time you develop your travel plan.

• share
• favorite_border

Companies wishing to place their messages before the American consumer during this year's Super Bowl game will pay a record $2.4 million per 30-second spot. Firms pay such premiums because of the large TV audience and expectation by viewers that the ads will be edgy, innovative and entertaining. Iowa State experts offer an overview.

• share
• favorite_border

Iowa State scientists have advanced glycomics with discovery of previously unknown enzymes that synthesize activated sugars. The proteins, produced from genes found in deep sea archaea that grow at the temperature of boiling water, make key building blocks involved in carbohydrate metabolism.

• share
• favorite_border

Iowa State University faculty make predictions for 2005 on topics ranging from diets to Wall Street.

• share
• favorite_border

Holiday hustle and bustle can unleash hazards that put pets in peril, says an Iowa State University small animal veterinarian. She points out potential hazards. By simply being aware of these, she says pet owners can greatly minimize the risk to their animals.

• share
• favorite_border

ISU experts can provide perspective on the Nov. 17 announcement that Kmart Holdings Corp., Troy, Mich., is buying Sears, Roebuck & Co., Hoffman Estates, Ill., for $11 billon. The merger will create the third-largest retailer. The merger offers both challenges and opportunities.

• share
• favorite_border

The USDA confirmed Wednesday that Asian soybean rust has been found in Louisiana, the first known incidence of the disease in North America. Asian soybean rust is an aggressive fungal disease that can reduce soybean yield substantially.

• share
• favorite_border

Gifts of $10 million will support a program that helps developing nations address rural hunger and poverty. The Sustainable Rural Livelihoods program collaborates with partners in developing nations to find sustainable ways to improve ag, nutrition, health and economics in rural communities.

• share
• favorite_border

A soil scientist is using erosion control methods to restore the Sahel and Niger River in West Africa. Land degradation threatens the region's economic stability. He devised a way to prevent further erosion and sediment deposits through reforestation using microcatchments.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists at the Regional Climate Modeling Laboratory at Iowa State University discovered global warming might not be as severe in the central U.S. as in other parts of the country. The findings underscore the need to consider the impact of global warming on a region-by-region basis.

• share
• favorite_border

In a study sure to surprise fat-phobes, ISU associate professor Wendy White determines that without at least a little fat tossed into your next salad, the cancer-fighting agents found in lettuce don't have a prayer of being absorbed.