To request a media interview, please reach out to experts using the faculty directories for each of our six schools, or contact Jess Hunt-Ralston, College of Sciences communications director. A list of faculty experts is also available to journalists upon request.
A ‘Safe’ Pesticide Is Damaging Bumblebee DNA, Study Finds
A recent study by researchers from Georgia Tech’s School of Biological Sciences reveals a new connection between sulfoxaflor — a next-generation pesticide — and disruptions to bumblebee reproduction and gene expression. And while its use may be well-intentioned, it's also crippling the DNA of many worker bees responsible for our pollination. This link matters more than ever as the world slowly watches our pollinators meet an uncertain fate.
A similar story appeared in SciTech Daily.
A-Z Animals
Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera speaks on accountability in science
In a conversation with Scientific American, President Ángel Cabrera (M.S. PSY 1993, Ph.D. PSY 1995) argues that dealing with mistrust in science will help the U.S. keep its competitive edge.
Scientific American
The Buzz Around Atlanta: Inside the Rise of Urban Beekeeping
Urban beekeeping as a hobby has grown across America. There has been a push everywhere to understand the role our pollinators play in agriculture and gardening. If you look closely around metro Atlanta, there are hives in neighborhoods, hotel rooftops, near parking decks. We begin our spotlight with the buzz of a Georgia Tech science building, home of the Georgia Tech Urban Honeybee Project's hives.
GPB
Lab-aged moon rock offers new clues about how water forms on the lunar surface
Georgia Tech researchers have recreated the effects of solar wind on lunar minerals in a laboratory experiment, providing new evidence that the constant stream of charged particles from the sun plays a major role in shaping the moon’s surface.
The team exposed ilmenite, a mineral commonly found on both Earth and the moon, to a synthetic version of solar wind. The experiment produced nanophase iron, tiny metallic particles that are widely observed in lunar soil and are considered a key signature of space weathering.
Interesting Engineering
Tropical Storm Arthur, first named storm of the season, weakens but flood threat remains
The first named storm of the hurricane season weakened Wednesday night, but forecasters warned that it still posed a threat of massive amounts of rain and continued flash flooding.
Zachary Handlos, an atmospheric scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology, said the potential for flash flooding will be determined by how quickly Tropical Storm Arthur moves through the region.
“What it comes down to is, is the rainfall going to park itself or become stationary over any of these locations?” Handlos said. “That is a little harder to predict.”
NBC News