Colorado State University study links stress to chromosomal damage

March 17, 2015 by Leave a Comment
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For Immediate Release
Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Contact for Reporters:
Jeff Dodge
Jeff.Dodge@colostate.edu

Colorado State University study links stress to chromosomal damage

Note to Reporters: High-resolution photos are available at http://col.st/qrrJu.

FORT COLLINS – A new wildlife preserve in India recently became a laboratory for Colorado State University researchers who studied not endangered animals but villagers displaced by the preserve. They found that such stress takes a measurable toll on people’s health.

Jeffrey Snodgrass, an anthropology professor, and Sammy Zahran, associate professor of economics, led an interdisciplinary CSU team that measured residents’ stress using tools that ranged from interviews to saliva tests for elevated levels of certain hormones. The group also took samples of cells from inside villagers’ cheeks to analyze how stress affected their chromosomes’ protective caps, or telomeres.

The research involved two villages in India: one that was relocated from its river valley to nearby plains to create room for a new preserve for endangered Asiatic lions, and another on the edge of the preserve that wasn’t moved. The CSU team found that the relocated villagers demonstrated higher stress levels than the ones who were allowed to remain in their homes, and discovered evidence that the stress was harming their health and even potentially accelerating their aging at a deep, cellular level.

“We don’t usually think about conservation displacing people,” Snodgrass said. “In this case, we asked whether stress could actually injure people deeply and shave off years of their life. Our findings support the idea that stress is linked to cellular damage.”

The results of the study, titled “Stress and telomere shortening among central Indian conservation refugees,” were published Feb. 17 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Snodgrass said the project is believed to be the first such stress study conducted outside of Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic societies, which tend to have lower stress levels and longer life expectancies.

Snodgrass, who has worked with the indigenous Sahariya people in India since 2008, spent four years on the current project, interviewing subjects from both villages and ranking their answers on the Bradford Somatic Index, a scale created specifically for South Asia to measure one’s psychological state.

His team also collected saliva and used toothbrushes to swab inside subjects’ cheeks, sending those samples back to his research partners for the hormone and telomere tests.

“It was a challenging field situation,” Snodgrass said. “We preserved samples in a refrigerator powered by a generator.”

Zahran handled the data analysis, while Susan Bailey of CSU’s Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences and postdoctoral student David Maranon did the telomere studies.

“I’m kind of in awe of their lab over there,” Snodgrass said.

Bailey’s work includes one of the upcoming NASA studies being done on the twin astronauts Scott and Mark Kelly while Scott spends a year on the International Space Station.

Each chromosome has a protective end-cap called a telomere, which Bailey compares to the plastic tip on a shoelace that keeps the lace from unraveling. As cells divide and replicate normally throughout life, the chromosomes divide as well, and as they do, the ends — the telomeres — gradually erode, eventually leading to the natural death of cells.

Bailey says the erosion rate of telomeres reveals a lot about a person’s aging process and health. For instance, studies have shown that nonsmokers who get regular exercise typically have longer telomeres than those who have unhealthy lifestyles.

In this case, the researchers found that during the study period, the telomeres of individuals in the displaced population were shorter than those of the villagers who were allowed to remain in their ancestral homes.

Those results were consistent with findings in the study of two stress hormones, cortisol and alpha-amylase, by Douglas Granger of Arizona State University and Johns Hopkins University. Their analysis found the hormone levels were elevated in the displaced villagers as well. Another co-author on the paper was Chakrapani Upadhyay, a sociologist at the Government Postgraduate College in Pratapgarth, India.

Snodgrass said that, aside from the groundbreaking findings, the project was distinctive because it involved a variety of researchers from seemingly disparate fields: sociology, biology, economics, anthropology and endocrinology.

“I think the hard sciences need the social sciences, and vice versa,” he said. “I think that together, we can come up with interesting — and important — findings not possible any other way.”

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Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523 USA
© 2015 Colorado State University
Filed Under: Colorado State University

Get ready for foaling season with presentation by Colorado State University reproductive experts

January 17, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Get ready for foaling season with presentation by Colorado State University reproductive expertsNote to Reporters: High-resolution photos are available at http://col.st/RoNIl.

FORT COLLINS – Oh, baby – it’s time to prepare for foaling!

Thursday, January 15, 2015Jeff Dodge

Horse breeders, anticipating mares giving birth this spring, may learn important details about foaling during a free, online presentation featuring Colorado State University equine veterinarians starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20.

Tune in by visiting https://plus.google.com/events/crrj4j3e4meer94nlb2r4r2ia7k#events/crrj4j3e4meer94nlb2r4r2ia7k.

The presentation will be live and interactive. It will cover topics including caring for broodmares, predicting foaling, response during a difficult birth, and tending new foals.

The presenters are Drs. Patrick McCue and Ryan Ferris, foaling experts with Colorado State’s renowned Equine Reproduction Laboratory.

Ask questions in advance by emailing cvmbs-socialmedia@colostate.edu. Questions also may be sent through Twitter, Facebook, or Google+ using the hashtag #PagingDrRam. Veterinarians likewise will field questions submitted during the session.

Featured presenters:

• Dr. Patrick McCue, D.V.M., Ph.D., Diplomate, American College of Theriogenologists. McCue coordinates mare and stallion clinical services at the CSU Equine Reproduction Laboratory and provides reproductive veterinary care at the CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital. He is the Iron Rose Ranch Professor of Equine Theriogenology in the Department of Clinical Sciences and studies reproductive endocrinology, reproduction pathology, hormone therapy and embryo transfer.

• Dr. Ryan Ferris, D.V.M, Diplomate, American College of Theriogenologists. Ferris is involved in the clinical broodmare, foaling and embryo transfer programs at the CSU Equine Reproduction Laboratory. An instructor in the Department of Clinical Sciences, he also consults on reproduction cases and emergencies at the CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

This free presentation is offered through the video chat service Google+ Hangout.

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Philanthropists John and Leslie Malone propel regenerative medicine with record $42.5 million gift to Colorado State University

January 6, 2015 by Leave a Comment
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For Immediate Release
Monday, December 29, 2014

Contact for Reporters:
Jeff Dodge
970.491.4251
Jeff.Dodge@colostate.edu

Philanthropists John and Leslie Malone propel regenerative medicine with record $42.5 million gift to Colorado State University

Note to Reporters: A full package of broadcast-quality video and high-resolution photos is available at http://source.colostate.edu/malone.

FORT COLLINS – Philanthropists John and Leslie Malone, fascinated by the healing power of stem cells, have committed a record $42.5 million to Colorado State University to develop regenerative medical therapies for animals and people.

It is the largest cash gift in university history, a remarkable commitment to improved human and animal health and well-being.

The donation will launch the CSU Institute for Biologic Translational Therapies to investigate next-generation remedies based on living cells and their products, including patient-derived stem cells, to treat musculoskeletal disease and other ailments. Colorado State veterinarians are experts at analyzing medical treatments for animal patients, then providing knowledge gained to boost human medical advancements; the progression is known as translational medicine and is successful because of similarities in animal and human physiology and disease.

“We are tremendously grateful to John and Leslie Malone for their generous philanthropy, foresight and dedication to scientific discovery,” Colorado State President Tony Frank said. “In addition to being the largest cash gift in the university’s history, their commitment positions us to build on our foundation as a leader in translational medicine, where advances in veterinary medicine very rapidly move into the sphere of benefitting human health.”

The new institute will be unique in its focus on developing regenerative treatments from inception in the laboratory setting, through clinical trials, to commercialization of new technologies.

Malones’ horses help inspire gift

The largesse was inspired in part by stem-cell treatments the Malones’ world-class dressage horses have received to help repair stressed and injured joints, the couple said. They discussed the gift at their sweeping horse farm near Denver.

“You put so much training into them, it would be wonderful to have them enjoy their health for a longer period,” Leslie Malone said. She led through her immaculate barn a promising dressage competitor named Blixt, a gelding that suffered lameness, underwent successful arthroscopic surgery at the Colorado State Orthopaedic Research Center, received stem-cell injections, and now is back to training.

“We think this whole area of research is very exciting in what it portends for humans and animals,” John Malone said. “When you say, ‘Who’s in the best position to do something about this?’ – to take cutting-edge research and apply it pragmatically to the problems we see that people and horses are encountering on a day-to-day basis – it became pretty logical. CSU was the right place to go.”

The Malones’ gift will provide $10 million for operations and $32.5 million for construction of an institute building, to feature laboratories, specialized surgical suites, and conference space for veterinarians and physicians. The lead gift requires $32.5 million in matching donations for building construction.

Gift will shape future therapeutics

“We are truly appreciative and humbled by John and Leslie Malone’s contribution to Colorado State University. This is a transformational gift that will make a difference in our society today and in the future,” Brett Anderson, vice president for advancement, said.

The Malones, dedicated to dressage and racehorses, first encountered Colorado State through its Orthopaedic Research Center, led by Dr. Wayne McIlwraith, University Distinguished Professor and renowned equine arthroscopic surgeon.

In 2013, the philanthropic couple donated $6 million to endow the Leslie A. Malone Presidential Chair in Equine Sports Medicine, a way to foster prevention, diagnosis and treatment of injuries in performance horses.

They soon focused on the Orthopaedic Research Center’s work in biological therapies – with gene therapy, stem cells, specialized tissue replacement and novel proteins. These therapies, used alone and in combination with minimally invasive surgery, could provide more effective and longer-lasting treatment for equine athletes and people with osteoarthritis and orthopaedic injuries.

“We are so thankful for John and Leslie’s support and consider them real partners,” McIlwraith said.

Veterinary medicine has a unique role 

Colorado State has demonstrated the value of treating animal patients with naturally occurring disease as a vital step in developing new treatments for human patients, noted Dr. Mark Stetter, dean of the CSU College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

The approach provides a logical and clinically relevant step in the benchtop-to-bedside research path for new therapeutics: Veterinarians design clinical trials to treat animals with chronic or acute illness; knowledge gained in the course of this treatment helps spark new therapies for pets and people.

“We are extremely grateful to Dr. and Mrs. Malone for supporting the unique role of veterinary medicine by so significantly supporting strides in animal medicine that may be translated into new options in human healthcare,” Stetter said.

Biological therapies are the next horizon

John Malone, a dedicated athlete in his school days, described his own orthopaedic aches and pains while explaining the vision he and his wife have for advancing regenerative treatments.

“This is a very exciting and very broad area of research, and it’s going to pay big dividends in both human and animal medicine,” Malone said. “It seems entirely appropriate to assist in the development of this research at one of the top vet schools in the country.”

The institute established with the Malones’ lead gift will allow Colorado State to vault ahead in its work.

“We’ve really gone through a transformation in recent years, with more participation in human medicine,” said McIlwraith, leader of the Orthopaedic Research Center. “This has occurred because of the comparability of equine joints and equine joint problems with human joint problems, extending into tendon and ligament injuries, which are big concerns in both humans and horses. This new institute takes us to another level with all of this work.”

People interested in donating to the project may visit https://advancing.colostate.edu/IBTTBUILDING.

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Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523 USA
© 2014 Colorado State University
Filed Under: Colorado State University, John and Lwslie Malone Tagged With:

Steak on the line as Colorado State University veterinary dean rallies scholarship support in #VetBet

September 8, 2014 by Leave a Comment
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Monday, September 08, 2014Contact for Reporters:
Jeff Dodge

Steak on the line as Colorado State University veterinary dean rallies scholarship support in #VetBet

Note to Reporters: Photos of CSU vet students getting fired up for the game are available with this news release online at www.news.colostate.edu.

FORT COLLINS – One is staking ribeyes, the other locally grown olive oil.

Sounds like the beginnings of a great meal, but it’s a wager between the deans of top veterinary programs leading up to the Aggies vs. Rams football game in Fort Collins on Saturday. The University of California, Davis and Colorado State University are home to the No. 2 and No. 3 veterinary schools in the nation; each veterinary dean hopes to be No. 1 in the gridiron contest – and in generating donations to veterinary student scholarships.

It’s the #VetBet!

As their teams face off in football, Dr. Mark Stetter, dean of the CSU College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and Dr. Michael Lairmore, dean of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, are challenging supporters to channel fan enthusiasm into scholarship funds for vet students.

To donate to scholarships for CSU veterinary students, visit https://advancing.colostate.edu/CVMBS/SCHOLARSHIP.

“I plan to have my steak and eat it, too,” proclaimed Stetter, who worked for years as the top veterinarian for Walt Disney Co. before joining CSU two years ago. “The Rams are favored in the football game, and I’d rather have interdigital phlegmon than see our rivals best us in the VetBet challenge.”

(That’s “footrot” for you non-veterinary smack-talkers.)

“I know both institutions value strong veterinary medical programs, and I look forward to enjoying Colorado steak from my friend and colleague, Dr. Stetter,” Lairmore, a CSU alumnus, deadpanned.

Lest fans think the #VetBet is all in fun, there’s a serious underpinning: Many veterinary students need support to avoid significant college debt. The CSU Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Program is addressing the concern with a strong new emphasis on career counseling and financial education.

In a nod to the university’s agricultural roots, Stetter is buying steaks for the wager from the well-known CSU Meat Sciences program. And he doesn’t want to give them up.

“Come on, Rams fans! Donate to veterinary scholarships,” Stetter urged. “I don’t want to eat crow. I want to keep my steak!”

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Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523 USA
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Colorado State University researcher examines effects of climate change and disease in polar bears

August 14, 2014 by Leave a Comment
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Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Contact for Reporters:
Jeff Dodge Jeff.Dodge@colostate.edu

Colorado State University researcher examines effects of climate change and disease in polar bears

Note to Reporters: Video and photos of Dr. Colleen Duncan’s Alaska trip to study polar bears are available with this news release online at www.news.colostate.edu.

FORT COLLINS – Climate change is melting sea ice at a hastening pace, pushing polar bears from their historic hunting grounds to dry land – and potentially spawning a “perfect storm” that could devastate the great Arctic carnivores through decreased food supply and increased exposure to disease, pollution and people, a Colorado State University researcher says.

Colleen Duncan, a CSU veterinarian and assistant professor of pathology, is a lead investigator on a research project that is collecting and analyzing data to better understand the impacts of climate change and infectious disease on population dynamics of polar bears.

“The question is, ‘What’s going to happen in the future?’ What happens when you get a little bit of infectious disease, a little bit of environmental contamination, and you superimpose that on decreased access to food and interaction with humans?” Duncan asked. “There’s the setup for a perfect storm.”

Duncan recently traveled to northernmost Alaska with fellow researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Geological Survey to collect evidence from study subjects. The team tracked wild polar bears across vast fields of snow and ice, tranquilized them so they could be weighed and measured, swabbed their mouths, and collected blood samples and other health-related information. They worked with one to five bears each day of the trip, and one day even encountered a sow with two snowy-white yearlings.

Now Duncan and her colleagues are immersed in the analysis that they hope will provide new insights into the complex and intertwined effects of climate change and disease on polar bears and other species.

“We need to study infectious disease in the context of climate change,” said Duncan, who works in the CSU College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. “One thing on its own doesn’t do it. We need to look at the cumulative effects. You can’t put a fence around their habitat and save the polar bear.”

Polar bears have become a poster species for climate change because the animals – whose scientific name means “sea bear” – have always lived by hunting seals on remote ice. With diminishing sea ice, the bears increasingly are moving inland and are potentially exposed to diseases they have not previously encountered.

For instance, Duncan said, polar bears have joined the scavengers that feed on whale bones piled together by indigenous Alaskan tribes. This relatively new behavior means different food, disease and environmental exposure that could affect bear health in multiple ways, she noted.

The infectious disease project, funded by the North Pacific Research Board, is one of three she has undertaken with fellow investigators Pauline Nol and Kelly Patyk of the USDA and Todd Atwood of the USGS.

Their work is notable for collecting samples from wild polar bears, instead of those living in zoos in non-native climates, meaning findings could provide a more realistic view of health changes, said Anna Fagre, a fourth-year veterinary student at CSU who has reviewed research literature for the team.

The biological samples collected from polar bears reveal the presence of antibodies that, in turn, tell researchers about exposure to infectious diseases. Because polar bears are at the top of the food chain in their ecosystem, data from bears provides insight into seals and other Arctic wildlife – information also relevant to native people who depend on wildlife as a food source.

Duncan, an expert in zoonotic diseases that are passed among animals and people, spent Earth Day in Alaska with polar bears. It left a lasting impression.

“I may never see a polar bear again in my lifetime. They may be extinct,” she said. “It was a real wake-up call. If you see a polar bear in the wild, it will utterly change you.”

A video about Duncan’s trip is available online at http://youtu.be/pqvFJrCD7OI.

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Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523 USA
© 2009 Colorado State University
Filed Under: Colorado State University Tagged With: , , , , ,

Colorado State University, Namaste Solar, Fort Collins Utilities team up to add solar panels to campus buildings

August 5, 2014 by Leave a Comment
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For Immediate Release
Tuesday, August 05, 2014

Contact for Reporters:
Dell Rae Ciaravola
970.491.6009
DellRae.Ciaravola@colostate.edu

Colorado State University, Namaste Solar, Fort Collins Utilities team up to add solar panels to campus buildings

FORT COLLINS – The rooftops of the Colorado State University Student Recreation Center, Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Durrell Center and Braiden, Parmalee and Corbett residence halls will soon be adorned with solar panels that power the university and Fort Collins homes and businesses, thanks to a new partnership with the City of Fort Collins and Namaste Solar.

The panels are part of a city program that purchases electricity from solar systems installed on business rooftops across the city through a 20-year contract. At Colorado State, panels will provide 1,100 kilowatts of power to Fort Collins, enough to produce about 1.65 million kilowatt hours a year, powering about 180 average homes.

“This is a great opportunity for the university to expand its existing solar power supply without fronting the costs,” said Carol Dollard, the university’s energy engineer. “This expands the total amount of solar systems on our campuses to more than 6,600 kilowatts. With Colorado’s generous sunshine, these solar panels can power nearly 1,200 homes.”

Panels will be added to Braiden Hall this fall, and the remainder of the panels will be added in early 2015.

The city utility pilot project is called the Solar Power Purchase program, or SP3. The solar projects on campus are being developed by Namaste Solar, a Boulder-based company, and City of Fort Collins Utilities will purchase the electricity generated by the panels. The university will receive lease payments for the panels from a third partner, yet to be determined.

Energy from the solar systems in the program goes directly into the Fort Collins Utilities electric grid, powering local homes and businesses, including buildings on the CSU campus. The city’s SP3 program also includes panels installed on other buildings in Fort Collins, and is expected to meet about 25 percent of the city’s renewable goal for 2015. The project also helps meet local climate action goals and state renewable energy standard commitments.

In March, the university was again named a top school in the country for its sustainability efforts, having achieved the highest score ever reported to Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Reporting System, called STARS. STARS is a national survey that measures sustainability efforts at universities and colleges across the country.

Since 2011, CSU has:

  • Signed an agreement with the City of Fort Collins Utilities to divert more than 200,000 pounds of food waste annually to an anaerobic digester at the Drake Water Reclamation Facility as part of a waste-to-clean-energy program.
  • Purchased an in-vessel composter to process the 100,000 pounds of food waste not diverted to the city. The compost is used in campus landscaping projects.
  • Added a minor in global environmental sustainability through its School of Global Environmental Sustainability.
  • Completed 16 LEED-certified buildings, renovations or expansions. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is a program that provides third-party verification for green buildings.

Also in early 2011, the university and partner Fotowatio Renewable Ventures completed one of the largest solar plants at a U.S. university at the time. The 5.3-megawatt solar plant provides one-third of electricity needs on the university’s Foothills Campus, about three miles west of the main campus.
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Colorado State University professor to develop proteins that could be basis for new cancer and HIV treatments

May 7, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Colorado State University professor to develop proteins that could be basis for new cancer and HIV treatments

Monday, May 05, 2014  Contact  Kortny Rolston   Kortny.Rolston@colostate.edu

FORT COLLINS – Brian McNaughton, a professor of chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology at Colorado State University, has received a $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop synthetic proteins that shut down disease-causing components in cells that do not respond well to traditional drug treatments. This research into novel proteins has the potential of eventually developing new treatments for cancers or HIV.

These proteins are biologics, a relatively new sector of the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Biologics, such as the designer proteins developed by McNaughton’s lab, are substantially larger and more complex than conventional drugs.

“For decades, the global pharmaceutical industry has relied on small organic molecules as drugs. While these reagents continue to dramatically improve human health, their fundamental limitation is encoded in their name,” McNaughton said. “The molecules are too small to act on the majority of disease-causing components in a cell. Our approach is to literally go bigger and generate synthetic proteins capable of suppressing the disease-causing activity of these components.”

McNaughton and his team will use a technique that relies on a green fluorescent protein originally isolated from a luminescent Pacific jellyfish. The team has recently developed a technique called “split-superpositive green fluorescent protein reassembly”.

Using this technology, researchers in the McNaughton lab will screen a billion different proteins in E. coli to identify the relatively few that recognize a disease-causing agent and bind to it tightly. When binding occurs the two halves of the split-superpositive green fluorescent protein fragments assemble, and that particular E. coli cell turns bright green.

“When an E. coli cell turns fluorescent green, we know there is a potential protein drug lead inside. We isolate that green E. coli from the other cells and identify what the sequence of this new protein is. We then characterize it to see how good of a drug lead it is,” McNaughton said.

Most of the pharmaceutical drugs on the market today are still small molecule drugs.
In recent years, however, biologics, which include protein-based drugs, have emerged as important players in the war on disease. Eight of the top-selling 20 drugs in 2013 were biologics, according to data compiled by Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News.

McNaughton said there is still much research to be done on protein-based therapeutics, which is why the NIH is funding projects like his.

“Protein-based therapeutics are very promising, but there are still a significant number of hurdles that must be overcome to fully realize their potential,” he said. “It’s too early to tell if protein drug leads developed in our lab will make it to the clinic. However, we’re excited to be involved in exploring the potential of this therapeutic approach.”

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Colorado State University News Service

March 26, 2014 by Leave a Comment
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For Immediate Release
Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Contact for Reporters:
Jennifer Dimas
970.491.1543
Jennifer.Dimas@ColoState.EDU

Colorado State University’s Online Education Graduate Programs among the Best, According to U.S. News & World Report

FORT COLLINS – Colorado State University online education graduate programs are among the best in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2014 Best Graduate Schools edition.

CSU’s online education graduate degree programs rank among the top 100 in the nation, landing at no. 75. The list highlights the top graduate degrees in education from regionally accredited schools that meet the federal standard of 100 percent online course delivery.

Nearly 1,000 programs were surveyed and scored in the categories of student engagement, student services and technology, faculty credentials and training, admissions selectivity, and peer reputation. Programs were then ranked according to total score, with the top-scoring programs ranked highest.

Colorado State’s accredited online education graduate degree programs focus on enhancing educators’ professional expertise by building on their prior teaching experience. Curriculum is based on the most current developments in educational theory, and emphasizes innovative instructional techniques, communication skills, and the development of lessons and projects that resonate with students. Graduates are well positioned to pursue careers in primary and secondary education, administration, and adult education.

“Colorado State University has a long history of developing top-tier educators prepared to answer the call to teach and take on the challenges of inspiring future learners,” said Matt Griswold, CSU OnlinePlus program director. “We are very excited that our dedicated faculty can now provide the same curriculum and course content to students online, making it easier than ever for current teachers and administrators to earn an advanced degree while they continue working with their own students.”

To learn more CSU’s online Master’s of Education degrees, including Adult Education and Training and Organizational Leadership, Performance, and Change, visithttp://www.online.colostate.edu/topics-of-study/education/ or contact Siobhan Venman at CSU OnlinePlus at (970) 492-4718.

About Colorado State University OnlinePlus

Colorado State University OnlinePlus has more than 45 years of experience delivering online and distance education. We support the University’s land-grant mission of expanding access to education by connecting students who cannot or choose not to come to campus with Colorado State’s renowned faculty, research, and academic curricula, delivering high-quality, in-demand degrees and courses with the convenience and innovation that today’s students need.

CSU OnlinePlus is a division of the Office of Engagement, which strengthens CSU’s ability to achieve excellence in the areas of teaching and learning, retention and graduation, admissions and access, and engagement and service and assists communities through engagement, scientific discovery, and regional research.

For more information about Colorado State University OnlinePlus, visit www.online.colostate.eduor call (970) 491-5288.

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Filed Under: Colorado State University, Colorado State University News Tagged With: , ,

Colorado State University Antarctic Lecture Looks Under the Ice on Feb. 25

February 19, 2014 by 2 Comments
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Wednesday, February 19, 2014Contact for Reporters:
Kate Hawthorne Jeracki
Kate.Jeracki@colostate.edu

FORT COLLINS –  

Rick Aster, head of the Department of Geosciences in the Warner College of Natural Resources at Colorado State University, will present the first in the School of Global Environmental Sustainability Spring 2014 Antarctic Lecture Series Feb. 25.

The lecture, which is free and open to the public, takes place 7-8 p.m. at the Fort Collins Main Public Library, 201 Peterson St. The topic is “Under the Ice: The Geophysical Unveiling of the Antarctic Continent.”

Aster, a principal investigator on the POLENET-ANET project, will discuss recent research, supported by the National Science Foundation, into the geological structure and history of Antarctica, and outline how the tectonic, volcanic, and other processes within the solid Earth have interacted with past and present ice sheets.

Modern technological developments have made it possible to look through Antarctica’s enormous ice sheets to study the geology of Antarctica. Using high-resolution deep Earth imaging, seismic event detection, GPS positioning, and other geophysical methods developed on other continents, researchers have been revealing what lies beneath the continent.

For questions regarding this lecture series or SoGES, contact Matt Knox, Matt.Knox@ColoState.edu, or call the SoGES front desk at (970) 491-4215.

The School of Global Environmental Sustainability

The School of Global Environmental Sustainability is at the core of a growing number of exciting sustainability initiatives in research and education at Colorado State University. SoGES serves as a hub to connect CSU’s community of scholars and practitioners interested in applying interdisciplinary perspectives to large-scale environmental, economic, and social questions not easily addressed through traditional approaches.

The School was uniquely designed to reach across disciplines and colleges to forge new alliances and advance greater understanding of the challenges to achieving sustainability faced by our nation and global community. SoGES is meeting this challenge and continues to strengthen CSU’s reputation of being at the forefront of addressing the world’s sustainability issues through research, education, and outreach.

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Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523 USA
© 2009 Colorado State University
Filed Under: Colorado State University, Colorado State University News, Uncategorized

Annual Forest Health Report Details Threats, Opportunities for Colorado Forests

February 19, 2014 by Leave a Comment
 
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For Immediate Release
Wednesday, February 19, 2014Contact for Reporters:
Jennifer Dimas/ jennifer.Dimas@ColoState.EDU

Ryan Lockwood
or Brian Woodward
FORT COLLINS – The 2013 Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests, released today by the Colorado State Forest Service at the annual Joint Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee Hearing at the State Capitol, details forest health concerns throughout the state and the opportunities available for landowners to mitigate their effects.

“Colorado land managers continue to face unprecedented challenges in their pursuit to foster healthy, thriving forests,” said Mike Lester, state forester and director of the Colorado State Forest Service. Lester said that insect and disease outbreaks, devastating wildfires, and recent floods have brought to light the necessity of working together to actively manage Colorado forests and as a result, collaboration among public land managers and private landowners has never been stronger.

Each year, the Report on the Health of Colorado’s Forests provides information to the Colorado General Assembly and residents of Colorado about the health and condition of forests across the state. The report provides recent data, figures and maps detailing major insect and disease concerns in the state, including the expansion of spruce beetle activity and the detection of emerald ash borer – an invasive pest first discovered in Colorado in 2013, which poses serious risks to the state’s urban forests.

This is the 13th consecutive year the CSFS has produced a report on the state of Colorado’s forests and the actions it is taking to mitigate forest health concerns. The theme of this year’s report is “Today’s Challenges, Tomorrow’s Opportunities,” with an emphasis on the link between the forest health risks of today and the opportunities to attenuate those risks in the future.

The principal source of information for the forest health report is the annual aerial forest health survey, a cooperative project between the CSFS and the Rocky Mountain Region of the USDA Forest Service. Other data sources include field inspections, CSFS contacts with forest landowners and special surveys designed to help ensure early detection of potentially invasive insect species.

The 2013 report also includes a special online supplement, the 2013 Colorado Forest Insect and Disease Update, which is a comprehensive listing of the damaging agents of Colorado’s forests. This supplement is available, in electronic form only, at http://csfs.colostate.edu/pdfs/2013FHR-InsectDiseaseUpdate.pdf.

Copies of the 2013 forest health report are available at CSFS district offices or online athttp://csfs.colostate.edu.

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Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523 USA
© 2009 Colorado State University
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