We have the okay to eat certain foods past their best-before dates, but there is a need for caution with others. Prof. Keith Warriner, Food Science, was interviewed on CTV on food quality and safety. Warriner said some foods, such as crackers, hard cheeses and baked goods, may be consumed after their best-before dates. But those …
The hot summer has taken a toll on grass throughout Ontario but will recent rainfall help? It depends. Plant agriculture professor Katerina Serlemitsos Jordan, a researcher at the Guelph Turfgrass Institute, told the CBC that, although grass isn’t functioning at the moment and we’re unsure whether recent rain will help, a prolonged period of rain can …
Geneviève Lalonde won’t bring an Olympic medal back to Canada, but that doesn’t matter to the residents of Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories. Lalonde, a University of Guelph master’s student in geography and former Gryphon varsity team member, finished 16th in the 3,000-metre steeplechase event in Rio this week. She studies Inuit education, so she travels to Ulukhaktok annually. …
Toronto is vulnerable to flooding so prevention planning is an important topic. One groundbreaking retrofit solution is the use of permeable pavement, which University of Guelph Prof. Andrea Bradford, School of Engineering, discussed in a Toronto Star article. She explained how the multilayered system drinks in rainwater and cleans it of sediments and pollutants. Although permeable …
Prof. Dorothee Bienzle and doctoral candidate Laurence Tessier, Pathobiology, were interviewed by CTV News – Kitchener Aug. 11. They discussed research they are conducting on horses and asthma, as well as potential implications for treating people. Bienzle studies the pathogenesis of retroviral infection and mechanisms of inflammation in recurrent airway obstruction.
Integrative biology Prof. Merritt Turetsky is quoted in an Aug. 10 New York Times article on the effects of peat fires. The story discusses how warming temperatures can dry out northern peatlands, increasing the risk of fires that release thousands of years’ worth of stored carbon into the atmosphere. Turetsky has participated in numerous international studies on …
It’s never been cheaper to generate electricity but Ontario bill payers are finding that’s it’s never been more expensive to buy it. Prof. Ross McKitrick, Economics and Finance, says relief for citizens is unlikely, thanks in part to the hidden global adjustment tax that has increased the purchase price of electricity. McKitrick wrote about Ontario’s “disastrous …
Lower crop yields and higher food prices are concerns in a summer of intense heat and little precipitation. Prof. Hugh Earl, Plant Agriculture, talked about the effects of hot, dry conditions on crops such as corn and soybeans in an interview with CTV News. Earl suggested farmers plant earlier in the year and develop more heat-tolerant crop varieties. He …
Prof. Karen Racine, History, had her book highlighted in an article in The Economist July 23. The story looks at Francisco de Miranda, who was born in Venezuela in 1750 and travelled around the world as a soldier and statesman. Racine wrote about him in her book Francisco de Miranda: A Transatlantic Life in the …
The federal government will reform the process of appointing Supreme Court judges, an announcement that’s stirring debate throughout the legal field. University of Guelph professors Troy Riddell and Dennis Baker, both in the Department of Political Science, comprised half of a four-person roundtable in Maclean’s magazine on the potential pros and cons of Ottawa’s more transparent approach …
Prof. Gard Otis, School of Environmental Sciences, was interviewed by New Scientist Aug. 3. Otis discussed a recent study of how bees keep giant hives cool. He said hive structure generally hampers observations of bees in the interior of the hive. Otis studies honey bee behaviour, ecology and evolution.
Saving the world’s bees is a race against time, as international “bee heroes” try to find out exactly why bee populations are decreasing at an alarming rate. Profs. Ernesto Guzman and Nigel Raine, School of Environmental Sciences, were featured in a Civil Eats article about people working on the front lines to rescue these pollinators and enable …
Prof. Robert Hanner, Integrative Biology, and Amanda Naaum, a post-doctoral researcher at U of G’s Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, were featured in a July 26 Globe and Mail article on mislabelling and food fraud. In the article, Hanner, who is also the associate director of the Canadian Barcode of Life Network, says that mislabelling fish can pose health …
Research shows that caffeine boosts athletic performance, and according to Prof. Lawrence Spriet, Human Health and Nutritional Sciences (HHNS), it can be an enhancer with low potential for side effects. Spriet commented on the use of caffeine as a performance enhancer for elite athletes in a Wall Street Journal story. Spriet, HHNS chair, co-authored Caffeine for Sports …
Anita Stewart, the University of Guelph’s Food Laureate, wants to celebrate Canadian producers and their products. Stewart discussed the topic, as well as plans for the upcoming nationwide event Food Day Canada scheduled for Saturday, July 30, with Radio Canada International. Stewart founded Food Day Canada in 2003 to help Western farmers after borders were closed …
Changing the hospitality industry business model, specifically the practice of tipping, was the focus of an op-ed column by Prof. Michael von Massow, School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management, in the Globe and Mail July 16. An Alberta restaurant recently introduced an automatic mandatory charge, and von Massow spoke about the public appetite for …
Postgraduate students need to be motivated self-starters, and the expensive decision to attend grad school should not be taken lightly, said Chris McKenna, associate dean of research and graduate studies in the College of Business and Economics. He spoke about the subject in the July 18 edition of 24 Hours Toronto. McKenna, who focuses on …
Prof. Bruce McAdams, Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management, said consumers are suffering from “tip fatigue” and should expect more disruptions in restaurant wage structures. He was interviewed about the elimination of tipping in the Edmonton Journal July 16. McAdams studies sustainability issues in the food service industry.
A study on identifying new wasps co-authored by Prof. Alex Smith, Integrative Biology, was featured by CBC News July 15. Researchers found 20 new species of wasps in a remote forest in Costa Rica. Smith studies biodiversity and parasitoid insects (insects that eventually kill their hosts).
Graduate student Meghan Grguric, Plant Agriculture, is researching how herbicides and pruning can disrupt the natural reproductive cycle of the invasive and toxic plant Giant hogweed. Grguric discussed her work, and the dangers that come with it, with CBC Kitchener-Waterloo.