Past News
Purdue expert: Pool water should be safe from COVID-19
May 15, 2020
West Lafayette, Ind. (WTHR) - Swimming pools are planning to reopen soon for the outdoor season, with local social distancing recommendations guiding the number of people who can get in the water. But is the water safe from the spread of COVID-19? One expert says, yes, provided that recommended chlorine levels are maintained.
Essential Agrarian Histories for Essential Agrarian Futures
May 14, 2020
Following the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our food system this spring, I’ve been thinking about this passage from The Grapes of Wrath. In Steinbeck’s Depression-era novel, the Joad family loses their family farm to the bank in a case of accumulation by dispossession. Deprived of a smallholder livelihood, the family joins other migrants to harvest food for corporate landlords in California...
New technology promises to be game-changer in the extraction of rare earths
May 13, 2020
Researchers at Purdue University in the US have developed a new technology that promises to be a game-changer in the extraction of rare earths. In a paper published in the journal Green Chemistry, the scientists explain that the patented extraction and purifying processes use ligand-assisted chromatography and are shown to remove and purify rare earth metals from coal ash, recycled magnets and raw ore safely, efficiently and with virtually no detrimental environmental impact.
New technology promises to be game-changer in the extraction of rare earths
Have I Been Cleaning All Wrong?
May 12, 2020
Ever since the coronavirus became a threat, many of us are doing a lot more cleaning at home, spraying and wiping pretty much everything in sight, especially high-touch surfaces like door knobs and faucet handles. But many of us are used to giving a surface a quick spray, followed by a wipe or two, which may not allow enough time for the product to work. And once you start reading labels on cleaning products closely, it gets really confusing. Several readers pointed out that disinfectant wipes and spray cleaners have different instructions on their labels for how long a cleaner should stay on a surface to effectively kill germs, ranging from 30 seconds to four minutes or even as long as 10 minutes. What’s more, some labels recommend cleaning before using a disinfectant.
What COVID-19 Could Mean for the Environment
May 11, 2020
We’ve all seen the headlines. Clear canals in Venice. Feral boars reclaiming southern European towns. Deering making use of a crosswalk in Japan. Smog filled cities suddenly clear, emancipated from chronic pollution. And anecdotal accounts are everywhere that the global slowdown due to COVID-19 is giving nature and the environment a chance to heal--to a point. There have been some positive, short-term environmental impacts of lockdowns and social distancing measures around the world, said Jeff Dukes, director of the Purdue Climate Research Center and professor of Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR). On the whole, however, the effects are a drop in the bucket compared to the measures that must be undertaken to slow the effects of climate change.
So You Want to Do Field Research?
May 4, 2020
It’s easy to believe that academic research is all about paging through dusty books or carefully pouring colorful liquids from test tube to beaker. And yes, professors love their libraries and labs. But it’s far from the whole picture. It turns out that some of Purdue’s brainiest faculty are also adventurers and explorers who have chased down tornadoes, spent weeks isolated in rainforests teeming with poisonous snakes, and come nearly face to face with heavy-breathing polar bears. They do it all not in the pursuit of fame or even fortune — but for knowledge.
How a diagnostic tool used on cows might unlock a key to COVID-19 testing
May 4, 2020
What do cows and COVID-19 have in common? Unless you’re Mohit Verma, assistant professor in Purdue University’s Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, the answer is probably not much. Verma’s research focuses on developing biosensors to monitor infectious diseases in bovines. Specifically, he studies how to diagnose Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD), the most common bovine disease in beef cattle in the world. Detection of the disease can be difficult and costly. Verma’s lab develops methods for testing that are accurate, safe and less expensive for farmers and veterinarians.
How a diagnostic tool used on cows might unlock a key to COVID-19 testing
How Crises Affect the Sustainability of Tourism Businesses and Destinations
April 24, 2020
Tourism is an industry that contributes significantly to the local economy. It is also among the most affected during testing times – be it the current coronavirus pandemic or the looming climate crisis. But how exactly will the climate crisis impact the sustainability of travel businesses and destinations?
How Crises Affect the Sustainability of Tourism Businesses and Destinations
Water quality could change in buildings closed down during COVID-19 pandemic, engineers say
April 14, 2020
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — While restaurants, gyms, schools and other buildings are closed indefinitely to prevent the spread of COVID-19, water left sitting in pipes could change in quality. It’s possible that water left sitting for long periods of time could contain excessive amounts of heavy metals and pathogens concentrated in pipes nationwide, say researchers who have begun a field study on the impact of a pandemic shutdown on buildings.
Water quality could change in buildings closed down during COVID-19 pandemic, engineers say
Farmers Who Rent Less Likely To Do Practices That Improve Soil, Water
April 9, 2020
Almost half of all Indiana farmland isn’t owned by the farmer who works it — it’s rented out. In the same way people who rent apartments are unlikely to invest in them, studies show farmers who rent land are less likely to do conservation practices. These practices improve the soil, the water quality, and make farms more resilient to the effects of climate change. Researchers say in order to get more farmers to adopt these practices, landowners are going to have to become more involved with what goes on on the farm.
Farmers Who Rent Less Likely To Do Practices That Improve Soil, Water