University of Florida News

GAINESVILLE—A new subterranean termite recently discovered in South Florida may be just as destructive as the dreaded Formosan termite, say University of Florida scientists.

GAINESVILLE — Cooler temperatures that mark the terrestrial migration of human snowbirds to the Sunshine State also encourage the ocean’s most dangerous predator to make its voyage here, says a University of Florida researcher.

GAINESVILLE — A 10,000-year-old underwater time capsule is giving University of Florida scientists new clues about the first people to survive the tumultuous transition from the Ice Age to today’s modern climate.

GAINESVILLE—They produce mountains of manure and stinky, ozone- depleting (some scientists contend), methane gas. They also supply the nation with sweet, fresh milk. It’s a real public relations quandary for the nation’s dairy cattle.

GAINESVILLE —The old saying, “You don’t miss your water until your well runs dry,” soon could ring true in Florida, experts say, unless someone figures out where the state’s future water supplies will come from.

GAINESVILLE — The “Goosebumps” series might frighten kids today into sleeping with the lights on, but these tales are tame compared to stories written in the 17th and 18th centuries that told of children baking in ovens, being eaten or transforming into wild animals.

GAINESVILLE — Now that the computer has replaced the water cooler and the back fence as a source for gossip and debate, a University of Florida professor is analyzing computer chat groups for views and opinions on this year’s presidential and vice-presidential debates. “I wanted to begin to understand how public opinion is formed and distributed in a new medium,” said Marilyn Roberts, a UF advertising professor and expert on political communication.

GAINESVILLE—A velvety, short-growing turfgrass specimen collected on a municipal golf course in Hawaii and developed at a University of Florida laboratory may bring hole-in-one success to the nation’s golf courses.

GAINESVILLE — Prestigious labels on brand-name clothes are so important to children that they jeopardize the success of much-touted school uniform policies, says a University of Florida researcher.

GAINESVILLE — Talking to friends about the death of a parent is more helpful for teens than discussing it with family, a new University of Florida study finds.