UF news for week of July 28 listed

July 25, 2014

[UPDATED: 4:30 PM, 8/1/14]

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Here are the releases the University of Florida’s media relations office expects to send next week, subject to change:

Monday, July 28

SNAILS — A small, slow moving resident who enjoys a vegetative diet and keeps things tidy may be the overlooked player in public debates over Florida’s ailing freshwater springs, University of Florida researchers say. Although the blame for algae-choked springs is often pinned on excess nitrate, the scientists say the absence of algae-eating native freshwater snails known as Elimia — which researcher Dina Liebowitz calls the “little janitor of the springs” – may be a key factor.

ADDED: EVENTS 0728

Tuesday, July 29

CC0714 – Monthly consumer confidence report.

MOVED TO WEDNESDAY: TEETH — A study led by University of Florida geology researcher George Kamenov showed that trace amounts of lead in modern and historical human teeth can give clues about where they came from. The discovery could help archaeologists identify bodies and police solve cold cases.

MOVED TO WEDNESDAY: LEPIDOPTERA BIODIVERSITY: The first extensive genetics-based “tree of Lepidoptera” has revealed monumental discoveries about the evolutionary history of butterflies and moths. UF scientists sequenced nearly 3,000 genes in a new study that traces the lineage of all butterflies to a single common ancestor and finds that the fragile insects, which do not preserve well in the fossil record, are related to small (micro) moths.

Wednesday, July 30

Open

Thursday, July 31

PANTHERCATTLE — A two-year panther study at two Southwest Florida cattle ranches shows that the endangered cats attack and kill calves, but how often that happens can vary greatly by location and landscape.

FIBROMYALGIA: A UF study has found that patients with musculoskeletal pain syndrome — which includes fibromyalgia — find relief in muscle injections of lidocaine, a common analgesic. This finding may help researchers better understand how chronic pain works.

Friday, August 1

ADDED: BACTERIA TIP

BUDGET 0804 — advisory for next week’s releases.