OSU News Blog

It’s hard to miss the quantity and quality of research stories coming out of OSU these days. The resulting media coverage is interesting not only for the stories highlighted, but for the high-impact visibility of the outlets in which they are published.

We’ve hit the venerable New York Times twice this week for OSU research on how climate change is affecting growth of Pacific Northwest trees in high-elevation areas and for OSU’s international leadership in the hottest new alternative energy area — ocean wave power. The latter was actually written by a Paris-based reporter (Lisa Pham) for the Times’ overseas publication, The International Herald-Tribune, and places OSU’s work alongside wave park projects under development in Portugal, Scotland, Australia and elsewhere, underscoring OSU’s impact as an international research university.

Los Angeles Times science writer Kim Murphy offered an interesting take on the PNW tree research, that it presents an upside of climate change.

The National Science Foundation Web site, where OSU enjoys regular prominence, features us today as its lead “Discoveries” feature, with a fascinating feature by OSU graduate student Mary Beth Oshnack on her research regarding building tsunami-resistant cities. The story is accompanied by four very cool videos of her “HouseSmash” project.

We haven’t forgotten the media closer to home, either. The Oregonian has turned to us for stories this week on OSU research of toxic algae blooms, which are thought to be growing around the state, and for my personal favorite, an account of a ferret that got H1N1 from its owner — perhaps first documented case of human-to-animal transmission anywhere.

Interesting reading, all. And it’s only Wednesday morning…

Oh, the wretched termite — bane of all homeowners, destructive and hated by everyone but the accounting office for Truly Nolan. And here’s why: The nasty varmints have been perfecting their wood-devouring tactics for millions of years. OSU’s internationally known amber expert, George Poinar, found one of the critters in a 100-million-year-old chunk of hardened tree sap, and has used it to unlock some of their crafty secrets, see below.

5-14-09

Discovery in amber reveals ancient biology of termites

By David Stauth, 541-737-0787
Contact: George Poinar, 541-737-5366 or poinarg@science.oregonstate.edu

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The analysis of a termite entombed for 100 million years in an ancient piece of amber has revealed the oldest example of “mutualism” ever discovered between an animal and microorganism, and also shows the unusual biology that helped make this one of the most successful, although frequently despised insect groups in the world.

The findings were made by George Poinar, an Oregon State University researcher and international expert on life forms found in amber. It was published in Parasites and Vectors, a professional journal.

This particular termite was probably flying around while mating in a wet, humid tropical forest in what is now Myanmar during the Early Cretaceous period – the age of the dinosaurs. It may have been attacked by a bird or somehow torn open, and then it dropped into the sticky, oozing tree sap that would later become amber, providing an opportunity for the biology of this ancient insect to be revealed in a way that would otherwise have been impossible.

Read the rest at http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ncs/recent.html.