University of Florida News

GAINESVILLE — With the busiest shopping day of the year upon them, millions of American shoppers will be reaching for their credit cards to spread a little holiday cheer and a lot of post-holiday debt.

GAINESVILLE — Even though Florida’s consumer confidence fell in November for the first time in seven months, its relative strength bodes well for lucrative holiday sales, University of Florida economists report.

GAINESVILLE — If it seemed like the plastic light-up Santa Claus in the toy aisle was dangerously close to rubbing elbows with the Fourth of July Uncle Sam cutout over in lawn and garden, join the crowd: Most people think retailers are putting up their Christmas displays earlier than ever, according to a recent University of Florida survey.

BELLE GLADE—Instead of using expensive pesticides to control crop diseases, South Florida rice growers can save thousands of dollars in production costs and boost yields simply by adding some silicon to the soil.

GAINESVILLE — Researchers at the University of Florida and University of California, Irvine, have designed a fusion reactor that will produce electricity twice as efficiently as a traditional coal-burning power plant and, unlike nuclear power plants, will involve no radioactive fuels or byproducts.

GAINESVILLE — A group of University of Florida students is helping the Department of Defense see if such seemingly unlikely things as landscaping and street design can help protect a military installation in the midst of a tourist mecca from a terrorist bomb blast.

VERO BEACH—There was a time when people came to Florida to see botanical wonders rather than those made by man.

GAINESVILLE — What led people as recently as the 1960s to hang their heads — divorce, children born out of wedlock, failure to pay off debts — has given way to shame 90s style: wearing furs, smoking in public, eating red meat and failing to recycle, a University of Florida professor writes in a new book.

GAINESVILLE — Roofing shingles, gypsum board and concrete blocks could join newsprint, milk jugs and aluminum cans in the recycling bin and may help the construction industry save money in the process, say researchers at the University of Florida.

GAINESVILLE – A genetically altered variety of cotton being field tested this season by University of Florida researchers requires less herbicide, which should mean reduced environmental damage, lower production costs for growers and cheaper prices on cotton goods for consumers.