Category Archives: Science

USDA Welcomes New Mexico

By David Arnett

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) and the New Mexico State Livestock Board have finalized an agreement to enhance state meat and poultry food safety inspection through joining the State USDA Meat and Poultry Inspection (MPI) program.

New Mexico’s participation expands local inspection capacity, enhances food safety oversight, and boosts market access for small and very small meat and poultry processors while maintaining strong national standards. Oklahoma is already participating in the MPI Program.

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CBP Stops Destructive Insects

By David Arnett

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists at Detroit Metropolitan Airport intercepted a first-in-nation batch of potentially destructive giant scale insects earlier this year. The approximately 5-mm-long insects—dark in color and covered by waxy, light-colored protrusions—were found feeding on the surface of fresh pine bark brought in for medicinal purposes during a routine baggage examination of a passenger in transit from the Central Africa nation of Cameroon to Illinois.

Local CBP and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials tentatively identified the tiny pests as a type of giant scale in February. The USDA later confirmed on Aug. 7 that the insects belonged to the Aspidoproctus species. Records indicate this was the first time the species had been encountered at a U.S. port of entry. Photo provided.
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OSU Bluemuda Turfgrass Research

By Staff Report

Researchers at Oklahoma State University and Mississippi State University are evaluating bluemuda turfgrass, a system that combines bermudagrass and Kentucky bluegrass to improve year-round turf quality while reducing irrigation needs in transition-zone climates.

Mingying Xiang, assistant professor of horticulture and landscape architecture, left, looks over turfgrass research plots with colleague Shuhao Yu. In collaboration with Mississippi State University, Xiang is studying a dual turfgrass system to cope with the weather in the transition zone. (Photo by Mitchell Alcala, OSU Agriculture)
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OU Explores Fall Risk for Elders

By David Arnett

A University of Oklahoma (OU) researcher at the OU Health Campus in Tulsa is undertaking a study of one of the most common health risks facing older adults: falls that occur in the home.

An estimated 14 million Americans, or one in every four age 65 and older, falls every year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While that risk of falls increases as we age, it is estimated to be two to three times higher for those 70,500 Oklahomans among 7.4 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease.

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Space Academy & Freedom in Space

By Newt Gingrich

There were two fascinating developments this week in the American effort to carry freedom into space.

President Donald J. Trump announced that the United States would be creating a Space Academy modeled on West Point, the Naval Academy, and the Air Force Academy. The new academy will provide a steady stream of competent leaders working to get America into space. It will also provide a center of intellectual excellence for thinking through the challenges of a space-based economy and humans living permanently beyond earth — from low earth orbit to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Furthermore, by making the new academy military and civilian, it will be a little like blending the Merchant Marine Academy and the Naval Academy.

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