University of Florida News

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — An outbreak of food-related illness, such as E. coli-tainted spinach, often leaves food safety experts scratching their heads over the source of the contamination.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida researchers are collecting marine invertebrates on the French Polynesian island of Moorea as part of a massive effort to inventory the DNA sequence of every living species there.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida ornithologists are preparing to digitize nearly all of UF’s analog bird-sound field recordings, one of the largest collections in the Western Hemisphere with 23,650 cataloged recordings representing about 3,000 species.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — If Cuban tree frogs have invaded your neighborhood, University of Florida experts want to know — so they’ve launched a Web page encouraging residents to report the super-sized amphibians.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Sunshine helps flowers grow, and it can help rid soil of harmful organisms that hurt Florida’s $9 million cut flower industry, a University of Florida expert says.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Termite damage costs the U.S. more than $1 billion each year, but that same destructive power might help solve one of the nation’s most pressing economic quandaries: sustainable fuel production.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Since reports of widespread bee die-offs began to surface in October 2006, researchers have investigated possible reasons ranging from hive-infecting mites to cell phone-tower radiation. They have yet to pinpoint the cause of colony collapse disorder — most likely, because there isn’t just one, say University of Florida researchers.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Dissecting owl pellets and reconstructing animal skeletons inside can be a gruesomely great educational experience for youngsters – so much so, that demand for owl pellets has spawned a cottage industry.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A gift of more than 2 million butterfly and moth specimens to the University of Florida contains hundreds and possibly more than 1,000 new unnamed species, and will help researchers better understand biodiversity and environmental changes.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Youth around the country will become bona fide butterfly researchers as part of a new science curriculum developed by University of Florida faculty and staff.