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More than 250 archaeologists from around the world contributed their knowledge to ArchaeoGLOBE, an effort to better understand the prevalence of agriculture, pastoralism, and hunting and gathering at different points in human history.
At New Bolton Center’s model pig farm, free-roaming sows are implanted with RFID chips, nourished by organic feed, and powered by solar energy.
With their 2019 President’s Innovation Prize, Katherine Sizov and Malika Shukurova are looking to disrupt the agricultural sector.
Flowers aren’t just pretty to look at; without them, plants couldn’t reproduce. Investigating the critical process of flower formation in plants, School of Arts and Sciences biologist Doris Wagner and colleagues discovered how a key gene is shut off in order for blooms to form. “Identity is not just what you are; it’s what you aren’t,” she says.
Caring for the trees on Penn’s campus—an official arboretum since last year—is no small undertaking. Staff from Facilities and Real Estate Services and the Morris Arboretum lead the way in ensuring that the University’s trees remain safe, vibrant, diverse, and beautiful.
Plants reap energy from the sun using two photosynthesis pathways, C3 and C4. A new study led by Haoran Zhou, Erol Akçay and Brent Helliker suggests that water availability drove the expansion of C4 species, which may help to explain how different plant lineages came to be distributed on the planet today.
With climate change comes drought, and with drought comes higher salt concentrations in the soil. Brian Gregory and graduate student Stephen Anderson have identified a mechanism by which plants respond to salt stress, a pathway that could be targeted to engineer more adaptable crops.
Brian Berkey and Karen Glanz discuss how dietary changes could impact the overall health of the planet, following the United Nations’ recent report on climate change.
Even on an urban campus, there are numerous places to coax food from the soil. From the Penn Student Garden on Spruce Street to the Penn Park Orchard, Facilities and Real Estate Services staff are expanding opportunities for the community to interact with an edible landscape.
Increasing smallholder farmer efficiency while reducing their environmental impact are critical steps to ensuring a sustainable food source for the world’s growing population.
Tom Daniels of the Weitzman School of Design says that Lancaster County has the most preserved farmland of all U.S. counties.
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Joseph Bender of the School of Veterinary Medicine says that farm size correlates strongly with milk per cow, though bigger farms aren’t necessarily the most profitable.
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A partnership between the New Bolton Center at the School of Veterinary Medicine and Mason’s Chrome View dairy in Nottingham, Pennsylvania, has led to new experimentation methods with cow care and dairy science.
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The New Bolton Center at the School of Veterinary Medicine is noted for having an alkaline digester that can safely compost animal mortalities.
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Thomas Parsons will lead the School of Veterinary Medicine’s new Center for Stewardship Agriculture and Food Security, featuring remarks from Dean Andrew Hoffman.
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