Deer Foraging Threatens Ginseng Survival
An abundant deer population with a hearty appetite for American ginseng threatens the survival of the widely harvested medicinal plant, a study by WVU biologists suggests.
Ginseng, a wild herb that inhabits eastern deciduous forests from Maine to Georgia, faces extinction within 100 years if foraging by deer continues at its current rate, James McGraw and Mary Ann Furedi reported in the February issue of Science, the flagship journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
“Without more effective deer population control, ginseng and many other valuable understory herbs are likely to become extinct in the coming century,” the authors conclude.
American ginseng, or Panax quinquefolius, grows under forest canopies in well-drained, nutrient-rich soils. The plant consists of green leaves, red berries, and gnarly roots, whose touted medicinal qualities range from improving mental performance to being a cure-all.
Asians have sworn by these medicinal qualities for centuries, and the high demand for ginseng in that corner of the world has made it a cash crop in Appalachia.
In the WVU study, McGraw, an Eberly Family Professor in WVU’s Department of Biology, and Furedi, his research associate, conducted a census of about 800 ginseng plants in seven different locations in West Virginia from 2000–04.
“We found that at current deer browsing rates, virtually all ginseng populations are likely to go extinct,” McGraw said. “As you reduce the browsing rates, the ability of ginseng to survive increases dramatically.”
So what can be done?
McGraw said there are three options: do nothing and watch ginseng likely disappear from the landscape; reintroduce deer predators such as mountain lions and wolves; or change hunting regulations that would lead to a reduction in deer populations.
“This has a potential impact not only on plant biodiversity in the region, but also on the economy and culture of the people who harvest ginseng,” he said. “Reversing this impact will require a joint effort of all stakeholders whose lives are negatively affected by increased deer populations—from farmers and foresters to landscapers and motorists.”
State Job Growth Finally Rebounds
West Virginia’s job recession is finally dead, according to the latest state forecast from the WVU College of Business and Economics.
The Bureau of Business and Economic Research report shows that after losing 8,300 seasonally adjusted jobs from the first quarter of 2001 to the fourth quarter of 2003, the state has subsequently added 12,400 jobs by the first quarter of 2005.
“The state is once again breaking new ground in employment, and the state’s unemployment rate is down to five percent,” said George Hammond, director of the West Virginia Economic Outlook project.
The outlook calls for the state to add 5,600 jobs per year during the next five years, which translates into an average annual growth rate of 0.7 percent. This is far better than the 0.3 percent per year rate of the 1999–2004 period but is below the expected national job growth rate of 1.1 percent.
Most of the net job growth is forecast to come in health care, leisure and hospitality, and professional and business services. Mining jobs are forecast to grow as well.
Mylan Donates Scanning Electron Microscope
Mylan Pharmaceuticals, the Morgantown-based division of Mylan Laboratories of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, has donated a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to the Department of Biology in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.
“This is an opportunity to build research infrastructure in the Eberly College,” said Dr. Jonathan Cumming, biology chair. “Until now, our researchers have had to go to NIOSH [the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health] to have access to this crucial piece of equipment. Having this microscope available to the college will increase our ability to do cutting-edge research.”
The SEM is a microscope that uses electrons rather than light to form an image. It has a large depth of field, which allows a large amount of a sample to be in focus at one time. It also produces high resolution images, which means that closely spaced features can be examined at a high magnification. The combination of higher magnification, larger depth of focus, greater resolution, and ease of sample observation makes the SEM one of the most heavily used instruments in research areas today.
Business Incubator Helps Fuel Coal Energy Project
A partnership inked between WVU and a regional coal company formed to commercialize carbon product technologies just might have the world heading for the hills in the next few years—as the global demand for energy sources becomes more and more pressing.
Officials with WVU’s Office of Technology Transfer have formally signed a letter of intent to work with Advanced Carbon Products LLC, a West Virginia company that wants to enlist WVU technology for bold, new ways of using coal—the Mountain State’s chief resource.
WVU faculty Peter Stansberry, Al Stiller, and John Zondlo have worked with their students to devise several ways to make durable, lightweight carbon “foams” from coal that are heat resistant and strong enough to even be used as armor plating for military vehicles—along with a host of other products.
Advanced Carbon Products has a virtual presence in the WVU Business Incubator as an online company. The Incubator was recently bolstered with a $250,000 grant from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.
The letter of intent sets the stage for the company to license and commercialize WVU’s carbon product technologies.
WVU Press Furthers the “Fellowship” with New Release
Tolkien fans are invited to join the WVU Press in celebrating the release of Volume 2 of Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review.
From its beginning in 2004, the journal has garnered much praise from J.R.R. Tolkien enthusiasts of both Middle-earth and beyond.
This second installment features over 300 pages of scholarly work devoted to the prestigious author. Additional features, such as book reviews and bibliographies, are included to assist readers in exploring collegiate research in the area. An essay to note is an obituary by Douglas Anderson honoring Humphrey Carpenter (1946–2005), a memorable if eccentric Tolkien scholar.
Tolkien Studies is the first journal to include pieces providing in-depth analyses of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works. After an initial reading by the editors—Douglas A. Anderson, Michael D.C. Drout, and Verlyn Flieger—each entry is subjected to peer review to ensure high academic standards.
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892–1973) taught Old and Middle English at the University of Oxford. New generations of readers continue to follow Tolkien’s works, partly due to the blockbuster success of Peter Jackson’s cinematic Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Fighting Cancer
WVU graduate students will explore new approaches to diagnosing and treating cancer under a multidisciplinary program that has received a $1.4 million shot in the arm.
The Cancer Nanotechnology Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Fellowship Program, or STEM, is a joint venture of WVU’s Nanoscale Science Engineering and Education Initiative, or WVNano, and the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center.
The West Virginia Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research provided the grant through its Research Challenge Fund to get the program running.
“Multidisciplinary education is the new reality,” said Thomas Myers, interim director of the WVNano Initiative. “One of the principal goals of the WVNano Initiative is to promote intellectual collisions between students across departments and colleges as is the case with the Cancer Nanotechnology STEM Program.”
The program focuses on bringing students from the science, technology, engineering, and math fields together to develop multidisciplinary approaches to treating cancer. It will also increase WVU’s competitive research infrastructure and competitiveness for external funding.
“Cancer has become the number- one killer in the United States,” said Peter Gannett, a professor in the WVU School of Pharmacy’s Basic Pharmaceuticals Department and co-principal researcher of the program. “It is difficult to diagnose early, to monitor, and to cure. This program will train students and produce research that will help harness the potential of nanotechnology in cancer.”
Student Meets Nobel Laureates
A WVU graduate student in chemistry rubbed elbows with the world’s most renowned scientists when he traveled to Lindau, Germany, in late June for the 55th meeting of Nobel laureates and students.
Matthew Mortensen was among more than 700 students from around the world who participated in the gathering. Activities included formal lectures by Nobel Prize-winning scientists and informal talks between laureates and students.
“I’ve really enjoyed talking to all of the scientists that where there, not just the chemistry Nobel Prize winners,” said Mortensen, 25, of Shakopee, Minnesota.
Since 1951, Nobel laureates in chemistry, physics, and physiology/medicine have annually convened in Lindau to have open and informal meetings with students and young researchers from around the world.
Mortensen was one of 25 participants chosen by the National Science Foundation and one of 61 students representing the United States. The U.S. Department of Energy and Oak Ridge Associated Universities sponsored the other American participants.
Mortensen is studying synthetic organic chemistry under George O’Doherty, an assistant professor of chemistry in WVU’s Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. The team of researchers working with O’Doherty focuses on creating new carbon-based chemicals for use in developing drugs.
History Student Wins Undergraduate Research Prize
A WVU history student from Morgantown took top honors at a recent undergraduate research symposium at the University of Pittsburgh.
Adelheid Schaupp was one of three WVU students who presented their research at the “Europe: East and West” symposium.
Schaupp’s paper, “A German Cross-Generational Comparison of the Effects of Nazis,” earned first prize. The paper was based on original data she collected while living and studying in Bamberg, Germany, in 2004, and she is developing it into a senior thesis.
The undergraduate research symposium was a competition designed to provide the very best undergraduates from the region with advanced research experiences and opportunities to develop presentation skills. The research papers were required to be on a topic related to Western Europe, Eastern Europe, or Russia.