research

OSU Professor zeroes in on an ocean virus to combat climate change

| strausbaugh.76

“’Oceans soak up carbon, and that buffers us against climate change. CO2 is absorbed as a gas, and its conversion into organic carbon is dictated by microbes,’ Sullivan said. ‘What we’re seeing now is that viruses target the most important reactions in these microbial community metabolisms. This means we can start investigating which viruses could be used to convert carbon toward the kind we want.'”

Matthew Sullivan is Professor of Microbiology and Director of the Center of Microbiome Science at The Ohio State University. He recently presented research at the American Association for the Advancement of Science showing his lab’s work on viruses that infect bacteria and the study of manipulating marine microbes into positive carbon conversion.

Read the full article about this research on Ohio State News.

‘Canary’ screening, presented by Green Columbus and Studio 35

Green Columbus and Studio 35 present Canary - An Annual Green Drinks Movie Night - Wednesday, Feb. 28, 6-9 p.m. at Studio 35 - 3055 Indianola Ave.
| Susannah Kistler

Join Green Columbus at Studio 35 for a Green Drinks Movie Night, featuring “Canary,” the story of Ohio State professor Lonnie Thompson, PhD, whose research has advanced our understanding of Earth’s climate system and climate change.

Dr. Thompson is a Distinguished University Professor in the School of Earth Sciences and a Senior Research Scientist in the Byrd Polar Research Center at The Ohio State University.

The event begins at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 28, at Studio 35 (3055 Indianola Ave. in Columbus). The screening is free, and concessions (including alcohol for those 21+) are available for purchase in the Studio 35 lobby.

The screening begins at 6:30 p.m. and is followed by a Q&A with Dr. Thompson and his wife, Ellen Mosley-Thompson, PhD, a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Geography in the College of Arts and Sciences at Ohio State.

Visit GreenCbus.org/GreenDrinks for more information and to sign up for emails about future events from Green Columbus.



— By Beth Strausbaugh

As world rubber supply is threatened, Ohio State scientists are developing more sustainable solutions

| Susannah Kistler

Katrina Cornish, professor of horticulture and crop science and food, agricultural and biological engineering at The Ohio State University, has led a group of researchers in improving efficiency and increasing the latex yield of the world’s primary natural rubber supply, which is threatened by disease and high demand.

The method: adding specialized agents during processing of a dandelion species and a desert shrub, to get more latex sustainably from both plants. Both plants are found in North America.

“We need to have efficient extraction methods for any and all alternative natural rubber-producing species, especially at a large scale,” Cornish told Ohio State News. “And they have to be low-cost if you’re going to be able to compete in the tire market in the long term.”

Read more in the Ohio State News article by Emily Caldwell.