................................................... COLLEGE NEWS ................................................... IOWA STATE CO-HOSTS SYMPOSIUM ON ANIMAL WELFARE A conference on animal welfare and epidemiology will be held at Iowa State July 14-16. “Welfare and Epidemiology Conference: Across Species, Across Disciplines and Across Borders” will be held at the Gateway Hotel and Conference Center. The meeting will bring together scientists from different disciplines to offer their experiences and expertise to address the need for a balanced, multidisciplinary approach to animal welfare issues. More information here: http://www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/welfare/home.html IOWA SCHOOLS FAIL TO MEET AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY'S NEEDS Iowa schools are not doing enough to help students learn about and become involved in careers in agricultural and life sciences, according to a review of educational programs by the Governor's Council on Agricultural Education. “Most middle school and high school students have no knowledge of the food, fiber and natural resource industry in this state, let alone the huge number of careers available,” said Robert Martin, chair of the council who is a professor and chair of the Department of Agricultural Education and Studies at Iowa State. More: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news_detail.php?var1=655 NEW RESEARCH VIDEO ON THE WEB "Harvesting Wood as a Biofuel” is the latest research video to appear on the College's web site. Rick Hall, forestry professor and new interim chair of the natural resource ecology and management department, researches the selection of genetically improved cottonwoods, aspens and other tree species for use in the biofuels and new products. More: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/research/videos/?id=3 CARD TO HELP FARMERS WITH NEW FARM BILL PROGRAM Analysis by researchers at the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State suggests most U.S. farmers will find Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) much more attractive than current commodity programs. ACRE is a new commodity program included in the 2008 farm bill. More: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/news_detail.php?var1=656 EXTENSION INFORMATION AMONG HARKIN'S SUGGESTED SOURCES Extension's Ag Decision Maker web site was featured in Sen. Harkin's agriculture newsletter last week as a good source for information about crop insurance and planting and replanting options. The entire issued dealt with information related to flooding and wet weather. More http://harkin.senate.gov/nl/ag/july032008.htm CANADIAN GRAD STUDENT TO PRESENT ON FOOD SYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture will host a speech by Nathan Pelletier, a doctoral student at Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia on July 21. He will present, "A Life Cycle Perspective on Food System Sustainability: Lessons from the Field," at 3 p.m. in 2019 Morrill Hall. Discussion will begin at 4 p.m. STUDENTS HELP ORGANIZE KID'S BARBECUE CONTEST Meat science extension sponsored the Annual Kids Q that was held in conjunction with the Iowa Barbecue Society's Championship Barbecue Contest in Marshalltown June 27-28 by supplying grills, charcoal and awards. Animal science students Kohl Schrader and Ashley Christensen organized the event that involved 20 participants. Schrader, a graduate student, also received a $1,500 scholarship at the BBQ Contest's awards session. Brian Krause, another animal science grad student, received a $750 scholarship. DEADLINES AND REMINDERS July 15: Lauren Christian Pork Chop Open, Veenker Golf Course, registration deadline July 8, http://www.extension.iastate.edu/news/2008/may/150801.htm ................................................... COMMUNICATIONS KIOSK ................................................... SHARE MONDEGREENS WITH MERRIAM-WEBSTER PUBLISHERS Have you ever been told that you have been incorrectly singing the lyrics to one of your favorite songs? This phenomenon is called a “mondegreen,” and is among the new words being added to the 2008 update of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition. The term means "a word or phrase that results from a mishearing of something said or sung." For example, many folks think Jimi Hendrix is singing "excuse me while I kiss this guy," instead of the actual lyric, "excuse me while I kiss the sky." You can submit your favorite mondegreen by going to http://www.merriam-webster.com/#news_5. ................................................... INFOGRAZING ................................................... GRADUATE COUNCIL SEEKS FACULTY NOMINATIONS The Graduate Council seeks nominations for faculty to serve on the representative body, which consists of 15 elected members of the graduate faculty, four elected graduate student members and two elected postdoctoral associates. The council provides a mechanism for interaction among graduate students, postdoctoral associates, graduate faculty members and the administration of the Graduate College on questions of policy, which concern the direction and process of graduate education at Iowa State. Council policies prohibit two faculty members from the same department serving at the same time. College departments currently represented on the Council and not eligible for nomination include: agricultural education and studies, animal science and economics. More: http://www.grad-college.iastate.edu/vote/vote.php ................................................... MARGINALIA ................................................... SCIENTISTS TO PRODUCE STEM CELLS FROM HUMAN-PIG EMBRYOS British scientists plan to create the world's first human stem cells from embryos that are part human and part pig, after the government's fertility watchdog approved the research, according to the Guardian newspaper. The team at Warwick Medical School hopes to use the stem cells to study fatal heart diseases. The researchers will fuse human skin cells with empty pig eggs to create embryos that contain 99.9 percent human DNA and 0.1 percent pig DNA. Stem cells extracted from the embryos will then be treated with chemicals to destroy the pig DNA, before they are grown into human heart cells. The animal DNA is destroyed to make the cells behave more like human cells. More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/jul/01/stem.cell ........................................................ AG AND LIFE SCIENCES ONLINE ........................................................ EDITOR Ed Adcock, edadcock@iastate.edu Phone: (515) 294-5616 Web site: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/aginfo/ SUBSCRIBE Ag and Life Sciences Online, the newsletter for faculty and staff in Iowa State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is e-mailed every Monday. To subscribe, send your name, e-mail address and the message "Ag and Life Sciences Online subscribe" to edadcock@iastate.edu. To unsubscribe, send "Ag and Life Sciences Online unsubscribe." Iowa State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. veteran. Inquiries can be directed to the Director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, 3210 Beardshear Hall, (515) 294-7612.