By KIM HACHIYA UNK Communications Mints. Those aromatic plants that brighten mojitos, tabbouleh and chewing gum, comprise one of the largest families of plants in the world. The mint family, known by its scientific name Lamiaceae, has about 7,000 members; they are found on all continents except Antarctica. And they often are found in exceptionally scenic areas, or maybe in your backyard garden. This widespread abundance of Lamiaceae is a big reason the plants are of intense interest to … [Read more...]
Framing the Future of Fuel: Tenkorang studies ethanol’s reputation, impact on world food prices
By JAN TREFFER THOMPSON Frank Tenkorang was still a graduate assistant at Purdue University when his officemate mentioned some exciting news: the school had started powering its trucks with soy biodiesel. It was 2005, and the United States was jumping on the biofuels bandwagon. In the years since, Tenkorang has seen biofuels – corn-based ethanol in particular – evolve from a budding industry into an established part of the Midwest economy, and now into a controversial commodity with a … [Read more...]
Sound Structures: Donofrio’s intricate, complex approach to composition not universal
By JAN TREFFER THOMPSON It’s hard to say when the music starts, exactly. Opening notes insinuate themselves on the listener, coming into focus as if emerging from a fog. Sounds blink in and out of existence in the space above a low rumble that builds into ripples of musical prose. Listening to Anthony Donofrio’s “Between Event and Crisis” is a bit like chasing fireflies on a summer evening, both exhilarating and peaceful. Or, maybe it’s more pensive, like solving a riddle. Sure, Donfrio … [Read more...]
Fluorescence: Cao studies hydrogen sulfide as cure for neurodegenerative diseases
By KELLY BARTLING Hydrogen sulfide is an interesting compound. H2S. A colorless gas, it’s that stinky rotten egg smell. It’s toxic and volatile – can make humans and animals sick or it can explode. But chemists such as University of Nebraska at Kearney’s Haishi Cao know the human body produces small amounts of H2S as a signaling molecule. As a top university researcher in bio-organic chemistry, Cao may one day find the right amount of hydrogen sulfide that in the brain could be a … [Read more...]
‘Nebraska-Centric’ Economics: Passion for home state brings Dority back to Kearney
By KIM HACHIYA Bree Dority was a college sophomore when she realized a class was speaking to her way of thinking. That class, introductory economics, often is dreaded by business majors. Marketing, accounting or finance seem more “real world.” Economics has a reputation as being the “dismal science,” dreary and boring. But Dority clearly remembers her epiphany during principles of microeconomics that “this is exactly how I think about making choices. This makes so much sense to me.” She … [Read more...]
