Kansas State University

K-Staters in the news — June 2016

The top stories mentioning Kansas State University are posted below. Download an Excel file with all of this month's news stories.

Thursday, June 30, 2016

*Biosecurity Research Institute Aims to Control, Fight Mosquitoes
6/29/16 Infection Control Today
Kansas State University is helping the fight against Zika virus through mosquito research. The university's Biosecurity Research Institute is taking a two-part approach: Researchers are studying mosquitoes to understand how they become infected with Zika virus and researchers are providing the virus to collaborative organizations for further study.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Summer Food Safety: 8 Rules to Avoid Nasty Food Poisoning
6/28/16 Reader's Digest 
Adding vinegar or lemon juice to your marinade could make your meat safer, according to research. “Acidic marinades tend to slow the growth of bacteria on meat,” says Melvin Hunt, PhD, a professor of food science at Kansas State University.  

Fourth of July: The Greatest Generation takes its final salutes
6/28/16 Fox News
That Fourth of July of 1941, Robert B. Brunson worked a summer job before starting his junior year at Kansas State University.

Kansas: Mobile Drip Irrigation Aims to Use Water More Efficiently
6/28/16 AgFax
Danny Rogers, professor of biological and agricultural engineering at Kansas State University and other researchers are analyzing the technology and looking at ways to improve it in new field trials throughout Kansas.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

*Zika virus research at Biosecurity Research Institute aims to control, fight mosquitoes
6/27/16 HealthCanal.com
Kansas State University is helping the fight against Zika virus through mosquito research. The university's Biosecurity Research Institute is taking a two-part approach: Researchers are studying mosquitoes to understand how they become infected with Zika virus and researchers are providing the virus to collaborative organizations for further study. 

Digging in: Shawnee student participates in archeological field study
6/27/16 Shawnee Dispatch
Chase Oswald is getting some experience with terrestrial archeology as one of 12 Kansas State University students spending this month excavating sites along Wildcat Creek near Manhattan as part of the Kansas Archaeological Field School.

New research tool for wheat breeders
6/27/16 AgWeek
Plant breeders and scientists around the world have a new tool for the research of wheat used for bread. “What this does is gives breeders and geneticists a foundational tool to understand wheat and what genes are doing important things, and using that to accelerate breeding,” says Jesse Poland, a Kansas State University wheat breeder and a leader of the the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium project.

Monday, June 27, 2016

Money can mask a marital problem that can be fixed
6/21/16 New York Times
Sonya Britt is an associate professor of personal financial planning and family studies at Kansas State University. Her research areas include financial therapy, physiological stress and the effectiveness of financial counseling.

K-State students' designs focus on healing, rehabilitating wounded soldiers
6/25/16 Topeka Capital Journal
After years of work by a Kansas State University professor and her students to help address a need for healing and rehabilitation centers for wounded soldiers returning home, they are beginning to see results.

How do food manufacturers pick those dates on their product packaging – and what do they mean?
6/26/16 San Francisco Chronicle
By Londa Nwadike, Kansas State University: No one wants to serve spoiled food to their families. Conversely, consumers don’t want to throw food away unnecessarily — but we certainly do.

*Hypercore: Speeding up access at Kansas universities
6/25/16 Topeka Capital Journal
Research at Kansas State University often generates or requires the manipulation of terabytes of data — which breaks down to 1 trillion bytes of data, or the total amount of storage space in about 50 top-end iPads or 10 top-end laptops.

Friday, June 24, 2016

*How Fruit Flies are Helping Scientists Better Understand Parkinson's, Muscle Wasting
06/24/16 Lab Manager Magazine
Erika Geisbrecht, Kansas State University associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics, is studying the fruit fly, or Drosophila melanogaster, to understand a gene called clueless, or clu. Geisbrecht and her research team have found a connection between clu and genes that cause Parkinson's disease. 

Oh, Those Catalina Bathing Suits!
06/23/16 Huffington Post
Currently up at New York University’s Grey Art Gallery until July 9th, Art for Every Home: Associated American Artists, 1934-2000, is a compelling exhibit that illuminates how AAA brought art collecting to the middle and upper-classes in America. Divided into five chronological sections, The Dawn of an Enterprise, Art for Commerce, AAA and World War II, Modern Art in Your Life, and “Pretty as a Picture”: Fashion and Furniture for the Masses, the show was organized by Elizabeth G. Seaton and Jane Myers for the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas. After it leaves Grey, it will travel to Syracuse University Art Galleries, where it will be on view from January 26 to March 26, 2017. Another venue was cancelled when the American Textile Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts closed down.
 
Scientists develop Fitbit for plants
06/23/16 Institution of Mechanical Engineers
Jesse Poland, assistant professor at the Departments of Plant Pathology and Agronomy at Kansas State University said: "Larger sample size gives you more power."

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Get a clue: Biochemist studies fruit fly to understand Parkinson's disease, muscle wasting
6/22/16 ScienceDaily
Erika Geisbrecht, Kansas State University associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics, is studying the fruit fly, or Drosophila melanogaster, to understand a gene called clueless, or clu. Geisbrecht and her research team have found a connection between clu and genes that cause Parkinson's disease.

A 'Fitbit' for plants? Low-cost, portable platform to gauge plant health
6/22/16 PHYS.org
"Larger sample size gives you more power," said Jesse Poland, assistant professor in the Departments of Plant Pathology and Agronomy at Kansas State University. "Measuring phenotypes is very labor-intensive, and really limits how big of an experiment we can do." The new tool will allow for faster measurements and accelerate the breeding process.

14 things in your kitchen to get rid of NOW
6/22/16 Good Housekeeping
Hand towels are most commonly contaminated surface in the kitchen, according to a March 2015 study from Kansas State University. What's worse, salmonella can continue to grow on cloths overnight, even after they were washed and rinsed in the sink. Researchers recommend designating one cloth for washing, one tea towel for drying, and sending both through the washing machine daily (especially if you've been cooking meat). If you've been using one towel to do everything, throw it out and grab a new one.

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Best Practices for Pet Parasites
6/21/16 Veterinary Practice News
Michael Dryden, DVM, MS, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVM, a university distinguished professor at Kansas State University who proudly bears the nickname “Dr. Flea,” said the past winter was fairly mild in most of North America. "The more mild the winter, the less winter kill of tick populations," he said.

*Disease that threatens Kansas wheat crop subject of genetic study by postdoctoral researcher
6/21/16 High Plains Journal 
With the help of a federal fellowship, a Kansas State University plant pathology postdoctoral research associate will study a serious disease that has caused substantial losses to wheat and other grain crops in Kansas and around the world.

Average Kansas farm income drops to less than $5K in 2015
6/21/16 The Washington Times 
Last year’s result generally means that farmers won’t have much money available to take on additional debt or incur extraordinary expenses, but they should be able to cover living and farm operating costs and pay existing debts, said Elizabeth Yeager, assistant professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State University.

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Hartford Funds' Human-Centric Insights Panel aims to enhance advisor-client relationships
6/20/16 Yahoo! Finance
Hartford Funds’ Human-Centric Insights Panel was created to help advisors meet expanding client needs that now accompany financial planning and wealth management. The initial set of panelists includes Dr. Kristy Archuleta, Dr. Vicki Bogan, Dr. Barbara Nusbaum and Tim Sanders, with possible additional panelists in the future. Dr. Kristy Archuleta, who will focus on the issues couples face, is the program director of the Personal Financial Planning program at Kansas State University, and has a PhD in marriage and family therapy, with an emphasis on personal financial planning.

*Are millenials chocolate chip-o-crites?
6/20/16 NPR
"When people choose to consume candy, they're not usually making a choice to consume something that is healthy or good for them in the first place," says psychologist Michael Young of Kansas State University, who co-authored the chocolate study with graduate student Anthony McCoy. Young hypothesized that millennials also set aside ethical concerns when choosing to indulge, despite a reputation in the food industry for caring about responsibly sourced food.

Engineering resistance to beat the bugs
6/20/16 High Plains / Midwest Ag Journal
Research lead by scientist Bernd Friebe at Kansas State University and the Wheat Genetics Resource Center Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers may provide a way to control BYD through fabricated genetic resistance. The objective of his current research project is to identify naturally-occurring sources for barley yellow dwarf resistance and transfer them into adapted Kansas winter wheat cultivars. The use of cultivars with genetic resistance to the virus or the aphid vector is the most economic and practical way of controlling barley yellow dwarf.

Monday, June 20, 2016

Five dirtiest household items that will surprise you
6/16/16 Better Homes and Gardens
A study by the University of Arizona and Kansas State University revealed the humble tea as another place for contamination. Bacteria such as salmonella can grow on tea towels overnight, particularly when people in the house touch tea towels before washing their hands.

New X-ray process allows scientists to examine molecular explosions
6/19/16 Latest Technology
The research, that was saved by a DOE Office of Science, concerned a partnership between Argonne, SLAC, and Kansas State University. “For these kinds of studies, we unequivocally need a group that combines universe leaders in X-ray sources, molecule showing and representation manipulation,” Southworth said.

*K-State's Mobile Surgery Unit combines learning, service for veterinary students
6/18/16 Topeka Capital Journal
A year after Kansas State University's Mobile Surgery Unit first hit the road, students have performed thousands of surgeries and helped a dozen of the region's animal shelters save on veterinary care costs.

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Veterinarian conducts clinical trials to improve cancer treatment for animals, humans
6/15/16 News Medical Life Sciences & Medicine
Raelene Wouda's passion for improving cancer treatment starts with our four-legged friends. Wouda, Kansas State University assistant professor of clinical sciences, is conducting clinical trials to treat cancers in dogs, cats and other companion animals.

College courses without textbooks? These schools are giving it a shot.
6/15/16 The Washington Post
One study by the Student Public Interest Research Groups concluded that students could save an average $128 a course if colleges swapped textbooks for open-source materials. The advocacy group studied open-source pilot programs at five universities, including the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Kansas State University, and found it cost students far less than buying traditional textbooks.

Best College Values releases rankings for online Master's in Education in Special Education and School Counseling
6/15/16 Yahoo! Finance
Best College Values has released the latest in a series of rankings for Online Master's of Education programs. Kansas State University is included in the list of top 25 universities with programs in special education.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

New K-State grant geared toward insuring children
6/14/16 The Topeka Capital-Journal
A $990,000 grant to Kansas State University will create health care collaborations focused on decreasing the number of uninsured children in the state. The grant, part of a $32 million national initiative by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, will be used over two years in four southwest Kansas counties — Ford, Finney, Grant and Seward — to create programs that enroll eligible children in KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, said Bradford B. Wiles, an assistant professor at K-State.

Wheat sequencing consortium releases key resource to scientists
6/14/16 US Ag Net
Following the January 2016 announcement of the production of a whole genome assembly for bread wheat, the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC), having completed quality control, is now making this breakthrough resource available for researchers via the IWGSC wheat sequence repository at URGI-INRA-Versailles, France. Jesse Poland of Kansas State University in the United States is one of the coordinators and co-leaders of the whole genome assembly project. One of many funding entities, Kansas State University provided funding for the project through the U.S. National Science Foundation Plant Genome Research Program and the Kansas Wheat Commission.

Farm Credit names economists to '100 Fresh Perspectives'
6/14/15 US Ag Net
Two nationally known agricultural economists from Kansas State University will be in Washington, D.C., on June 15 to receive a special recognition from Farm Credit. G. Art Barnaby, professor, and Barry Flinchbaugh, professor emeritus, were selected for Farm Credit's Fresh Perspectives Top 100 Honorees for their passion in guiding agricultural interests through the complex global market. Flinchbaugh is receiving the additional honor of being in the Top 10 among those who will receive the award.

Monday, June 13, 2016

7 money secrets the rich don't want you to know
6/12/16 MSN News
Eat out less: Author Paul Sullivan and colleague Brad Klontz, a clinical psychologist with an academic appointment at Kansas State University, conducted research on the difference in spending habits of the 1 percent and the 5 percent. The 1 percent spent 30 percent less on eating out and saved it for retirement instead.

Wheat looks good as Kansas harvest begins amid low prices
6/13/16 Miami Herald
Wheat prices have averaged $4.90 a bushel in the past year, marking a steep plunge from their peak of $7.77 during the 2012 drought, said Dan O'Brien, the Extension specialist in grain markets at Kansas State University.

*Mobile Surgery Unit aids Prairie Paws and other shelters
6/11/16 Ottawa Herald
Kansas State University's Shelter Medicine Mobile Surgery Unit has performed thousands of surgeries in the past year — from Ottawa to Beatrice, Nebraska.

Friday, June 10, 2016

Engineering resistance to beat the bugs
06/09/16 Morning Ag Clips
Research lead by scientist Bernd Friebe at Kansas State University and the Wheat Genetics Resource Center I/UCRC may provide a way to control BYD through fabricated genetic resistance. The objective of his current research project is to identify naturally-occurring sources for BYD resistance and transfer them into adapted Kansas winter wheat cultivars. The use of cultivars with genetic resistance to the virus or the aphid vector is the most economic and practical way of controlling BYD.
 
Kansas State Polytechnic Expands Unmanned Commercial Flight Training Program with North Dakota's SkySkopes as First National Client
06/09/16 Aviation Pros
After debuting its inaugural flight training course to unmanned aircraft systems students in January, the UAS program on Kansas State University's Polytechnic Campus is expanding that offering to now include its first national professional client.
 
Kansas Health Foundation awards $1 million in grant funds to 53 projects
06/09/16 Wichita Eagle
The Kansas Health Foundation has awarded more than $1 million in grants to 53 community projects around the state.
▪ Kansas State Research and Extension, $4,845
▪ Kansas State University, $25,000

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Kansas State Polytechnic expands unmanned commercial flight training program with North Dakota's SkySkopes as first national client
6/9/16 Aviation Pros
After debuting its inaugural flight training course to unmanned aircraft systems students in January, the UAS program on Kansas State University's Polytechnic Campus is expanding that offering to now include its first national professional client.

Three tips for protecting your business with web filtering
6/9/16 New Hampshire Business Review
According to a study by Kansas State University, roughly 60 to 80 percent of employee time is spent surfing non-work related websites. Essentially the money you spend on your web filtering software could pay off tenfold in productivity if you limit some commonly surfed websites.

*Kansas State University physicists develop new class of fiber-based lasers
6/9/15 AZO Optics
A new class of lasers developed by a team that included physics researchers at Kansas State University could help scientists measure distances to faraway targets, identify the presence of certain gases in the atmosphere and send images of the earth from space.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Wheat breeders look for Everest replacement
6/7/16 High Plains Journal 
The Kansas State University Southeast Research and Extension Center near Parsons, Kansas, with its new facilities hosted its first field day May 24. 

Poor Cell Reception Could Impact Land Value: Report
6/7/16 Real Agriculture
"Farmers who expect to utilize telematics may not be willing to pay similar rental rates for farmland tracts without adequate wireless connectivity," says a report published by Terry Griffin of Kansas State University and seven other U.S. agricultural academics in the 2016 Journal of American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. 

*Veterinary researchers patent methods for detecting, treating a bacterial infection
6/6/16 Phys.org
A team of researchers from Kansas State University's College of Veterinary Medicine has received a U.S. patent to control and treat fusobacterial infections in humans and animals.  

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Why? We hanker after instant gratification
6/6/16 Ciencias Médicas News
Walter Schumm: Our culture puts a premium on what is fast and pleasurable, regardless of the long-term consequences. Schumm is a professor of family studies and human services at Kansas State University.  

Strategizing the future
6/6/16 High Plains Journal
As Gregg Hadley, our meeting facilitator and a member of the K-State Ag Economics department pointed out, not many farm families are willing to sit around the table to plan and strategize. And that can be a critical mistake.

Mowing a wet lawn
6/6/16 Living The Country Life
Ward Upham is an extension horticulturist at Kansas State University. He says mowing wet grass isn’t a good idea for three reasons: Your mower has to work harder, grass is slippery and a safety concern especially if you’re on a slope, and thirdly – wet grass sticks to everything.

Monday, June 6, 2016

Roundabouts are coming, but to they work?
6/5/16 Napa Valley Register
The real value of roundabouts lies in their ability to turn potentially deadly or devastating broadside strikes into slower and less dangerous fender-benders, according to Eugene Russell, a civil engineering professor at Kansas State University and a longtime advocate of the design.

Boys State of Kansas Leadership Academy starts Sunday
6/4/16 EIN News
The 79th American Legion Boys State of Kansas Leadership Academy will begin on Sunday in Manhattan at Kansas State University. The event goes from Sunday until June 10.

Manhattan-Fort Riley hit by twister on June 8, 1966, too
6/6/16 Topeka Capital Journal
Damage in Manhattan was estimated at up to $5 million, including nearly $2 million in damages to Kansas State University, the National Weather Service said. The storm injured 65 people, destroyed 11 homes and damaged 328 homes.

Friday, June 3, 2016

No Room in U.S. Grain Silos Means Dumping Wheat in Parking Lots
06/02/16 MSN
For many growers, the slump means they are spending more to grow wheat than they can collect when the grain is sold, according to analysts at Societe Generale SA, which forecast Chicago wheat futures will average $4.52 a bushel in the third quarter, compared with $4.855 now. Kansas State University estimates each bushel costs $3.90 to $5.18 to produce. Moneys managers have been betting prices will fall for almost 10 straight months.
 
*Can a commission help prevent global hunger issues by 2050?
06/02/16 Farm Progress
The commission will have a Midwestern and Corn Belt flavor among its membership. Woodson is former Purdue University dean of the College of Agriculture. Other commission members include Gebisa Ejeta, a Purdue agronomy professor and 2009 World Food Prize laureate; Jay Akridge, current Purdue dean of agriculture; Vic Lechtenberg, a special assistant to the Purdue president and former Purdue dean of agriculture; Dan Glickman, former USDA secretary; and April Mason, a nutritionist and provost at Kansas State University.
 
USDA Awards More Than $14.5 Million to Support Plant Health and Resilience Research
06/02/16 USDA News
Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan., $500,000

Thursday, June 2, 2016

General Mills Recalls Millions Of Pounds Of Flour Milled In Kansas City
6/1/16 KCUR
E. coli is a common bacteria but can be killed by adequate cooking. Many of those taken ill reported having eaten raw flour – found in cookie dough, for instance. Flour, made from wheat, is a raw agricultural commodity and may come in contact with animals and the bacteria they carry. That means it must be treated with the care of other raw products, said Dr. Fadi Aramouni, a professor of food science at Kansas State University.

*Why Ecologists Are Advising an Increase in Prescribed Grassland Burning
6/1/16 Lab Manager
Kansas State University researchers have found a three-year absence of fire is the tipping point for the tallgrass prairie ecosystem and advise an increase in burning.

*K-State offers online VFD module
6/1/16 Drovers
Striving to provide the most up-to-date information on upcoming changes in regulations related to the Veterinary Feed Directive, the Beef Cattle Institute (BCI) at Kansas State University is offering a new online resource – for free.

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

*Doctor's orders for tallgrass prairie: More fire
5/31/16 United Press International 
To maintain the unique ecosystem of the Plains States, ecologists at Kansas State University recommend more prescribed burns.

Meet the well-dressed wedge salad done five different ways
5/31/16 Kansas City Star
A hearty slice of crisp lettuce topped with lean proteins, vegetables, beans, nuts and fruit can create a cutting-edge wedge salad, says Tandalayo (Tanda) Kidd, a registered dietitian, licensed practical nurse and associate department head/extension specialist with the Department of Food, Nutrition, Dietetics and Health at Kansas State University.

How to mow a wet lawn
5/31/16 Salina Journal 
"You’re reducing the vigor of the plant," said McKernan, horticulture extension agent with the K-State Research and Extension Office in Sedgwick County.