Dr. Heather Vincent/UF researcher: “The Phytochemical Index is very interesting in that it does not necessarily promote portion size or worrying about the specific type of foods rather than just worrying about start incorporating into your diet as many plant-based foods as you can, and the rest of the healthful dietary patterns will follow.”

PHYTOCHEMICALS AREN’T CONSIDERED ESSENTIAL NUTRIENTS, BUT THEY DO HAVE UNIQUE PROTECTIVE AND DISEASE PREVENTION PROPERTIES. EATING MORE FOODS DERIVED FROM PLANTS BEFORE EATING ANYTHING ELSE MAKE YOU FEEL FULL SOONER, KEEPING DOWN THE CALORIES.

Dr. Heather Vincent/UF researcher: “This costs nothing. The average person can do it and when taught properly, can start to really think about how to incorporate as many of the phytochemical rich foods into the diet.”

SOME FAMILIAR PHYTOCHEMICALS ARE BETA CAROTENE FOUND IN CARROTS, AND LYCOPENE IN TOMATOES.

Dr. Donna Sabis-Burns, UF children literature researcher: “I found it was very disappointing that today’s teachers are using books that are old, 10 years and older!”

RESEARCHERS FOUND ONLY TWO-PERCENT WERE PUBLISHED AFTER 1992, THE SAME YEAR INFORMATION SURFACED DETAILING THE TREATMENT OF NATIVE AMERICANS DURING THE EXPEDITION. UF RESEARCHERS BELIEVE COLUMBUS’ STORY ISN’T CHANGING IN THE CLASSROOM BECAUSE OF THE CONTROVERSY.

Dr. Donna Sabis-Burns, UF children literature researcher : “I have very different stories about Columbus, one from a very native side, one from a very strong native perspective, and one from a very European perspective, and some that are in the middle.”

EXPERTS SAY THE STUDY SHOULD ENCOURAGE TEACHERS TO UPDATE THEIR BOOKS, TO SHOW A MORE COMPLETE PICTURE ABOUT COLUMBUS.

Don Behringer/ UF Program of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences: “That’s one of the 80 million dollar questions, where it initially came from. We know that it can be spread between lobsters. They can eat infected tissue and contract it that way. They can contract it through contact with other lobsters.”

SCIENTISTS WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA AND SEVERAL OTHER INSTITUTIONS HAVE BEEN AWARDED A GRANT OF MORE THAN A MILLION DOLLARS TO STUDY THE VIRUS. THE SPINY LOBSTER PROVIDES AN ANNUAL HARVEST OF MORE THAN 25-MILLION DOLLARS, BUT SINCE THE DISCOVERY OF THE VIRUS, FISHERIES HAVE SEEN A 30 PERCENT DECREASE OF LOBSTER.

Don Behringer/ UF Program of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences: “So they’re actually bringing it into the system from potentially other places in the Carribean so that may be the link that’s connecting all of these populations so that’s what we’re really going to focus on in this newly funded national science foundation study.”

THE SMALLER THE LOBSTER, THE QUICKER IT DIES BUT RESEARCHERS SAY IT DOESN’T SEEM LIKELY THAT LOBSTERS COULD BE WIPED OUT.

Beverly Roberts/UF researcher: “Those people that participated in the T’ai Chi sessions actually had lower blood glucose at three and six months. And in addition, those individuals also had lower hemoglobin A1c which means they had better diabetic control.”

In addition to controlling diabetes, experts say T’ai Chi gives the body just as good of a workout as other aerobic exercises.

Beverly Roberts/UF researcher: “T’ai Chi really is just as effective as other aerobic exercises in diabetic control. The difference is T’ai Chi is less intense, is a low impact exercise which means that it’s less stressful on the bones, joints, and muscles than walking or bicycling.”

Experts say T’ai Chi could really benefit elderly diabetics or those who may be unable to handle a more strenuous exercise program.

Ed Gilman/UF horticulture researcher: “When you see how often irrigation systems come on in a typical landscape, you think well, maybe shrubs actually need that but when we put the study to it and looked at the numbers, it turned out that watering once or twice a week in most parts of Florida, Central and north anyway, shrubs survive and grew fairly well.”

RESEARCHERS SAY IN NORTH AND CENTRAL FLORIDA, WATERING EVERY 3 OR 4 DAYS WITH AS LITTLE AS THREE QUARTS OF WATER EACH TIME, WILL GET THE JOB DONE. IN SOUTH FLORIDA YOU HAVE TO BE A LITTLE MORE FREQUENT AND WATER YOUR SHRUBS EVERY 2 or 3 DAYS. YET MANY HOMEOWNERS CONTINUE TO OVER WATER.

Ed Gilman/UF horticulture researcher: “I think people do over water their plants and two things can happen. One is obvious, we use more water then we need and those issues are quite obvious to most people but the other issue is I think there’s evidence in poorly drain sites where if you keep adding more water, the roots are going to rot.”

GILMAN SAYS EVEN IN THOSE POOR DRAIN SITES, BY ADDING THREE QUARTS EVERY TIME YOU IRRIGATE, SHRUBS WILL DO WELL AND YOU’LL SAVE MONEY ON THAT WATER BILL.

Dr. Phillip Kaufman/UF entomology researcher: “What’s happened is the ticks have become more resistant to chemicals, and they are not able to control them the way they once did.”

RESEARCHERS SAY THE BROWN DOG TICK DOESN’T CARRY DISEASE; BUT IT IS A MAJOR PEST. IT RESIDES IN HOMES AND LAYS FIVE-THOUSAND EGGS AT A TIME. EXPERTS RECOMMEND PET OWNERS FOLLOW A PEST MANAGEMENT APPROACH.

Dr. Phillip Kaufman/UF entomology researcher: “In that program, we don’t regularly treat our animals with pesticides. We wait until you have the pest in place, and then treat for that pest.”

UF RESEARCHERS FOUND THIS TICK’S RESITANCE TO PERMETHERIN IN EARLY RESEARCH. THEY’RE WORKING TO DEVELOP A TEST THAT DETERMINES WHAT TICKS ARE RESISTANT TO WHAT CHEMICALS.

Dr. Darryl Heard/UF veterinary medicine researcher: “It produces a low voltage or amperage so it doesn’t hurt the animal, but by placing electrodes over the venom gland, we’re able to eject the venom from an anesthetized snake.”

RESEARCHERS CONSIDER THE TECHNIQUE SAFER FOR THE HANDLER AND LESS STRESSFUL ON THE SNAKE. IT ALSO DRAWS MORE VENOM THAN TRADITIONAL EXTRACTION METHODS. SCIENTISTS MADE ANOTHER DISCOVERY WORKING WITH SNAKES LIVING ON AN ISOLATED ISLAND. A DECREASE OF FOOD FORCED THE SNAKES TO ADAPT AND CUT THE TOXICITY OF THEIR VENOM.

Dr. Darryl Heard/UF veterinary medicine researcher: “They scavenger. They eat fish dropped from the bird rookery versus the mainland species have to actually capture their prey with venom.”

EXPERTS SAY THE FINDINGS SHOULD PROVE USEFUL IN BOTH VETERINARY AND HUMAN MEDICINE, WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE EFFECTIVE ANTI-VENOMS.

Robert Cousins/UF nutrition researcher: “We found that the production and release of this gamma interferon is increased when the blood cells are from people that have been given extra zinc.”

Immune systems could get a test this fall from what could be a severe flu season. T-cells remain one of the body’s top lines of defense, as they help identify and destroy bacteria. Results suggest that more zinc means more active T-cells.

Robert Cousins/UF nutrition researcher: “By analogy, the idea would be that if you were at least at adequate zinc status from your daily diet, your t-cells would be functioning at their maximum capacity.”

Experts say maintaining a good diet, including a good source of zinc, helps your body ward off infection.

Dr. William Hauswirth/UF researcher: “The gene essentially goes into the cells that is missing it, and it starts expressing the protein that it encodes, and that protein is the enzyme they’re missing. So, this enzyme then restores the visual cycle to these cells.”

UF RESEARCHERS INJECTED THE GENE INTO THE EYES OF THREE YOUNG ADULTS WITH A TYPE OF BLINDNESS CALLED LCA2. THEY FOUND THE PATIENTS EYES WERE TEN THOUSAND TIMES MORE FUNCTIONAL IN THE REGION THE THERAPY WAS INJECTED INTO. ONE WOMAN COULD SEE A DIGITAL CLOCK FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HER LIFE.

Dr. William Hauswirth/UF researcher: “Her brain had realized that we had restored some function to a non-central part of her retina, and her brain had now re-wired the muscles of her eye so that depending on the brightness of the object, she would use either the central retina or the treated part of the retina.”

PEOPLE WITH SIGHT HAVE ONE CENTRAL REGION, OR FOVEA, THEY CAN SEE OUT OF. BUT, THIS GENE THERAPY CREATED ANOTHER OFF-CENTER REGION THAT HAS BECOME MORE SENSITIVE TO LIGHT.

Rick Davis/UF Researcher: “It actually has lots of health benefits even in childhood in managing childhood obesity. High fiber foods tend to be more filling, children eat less. There is an epidemic of obesity in our country and also with diabetes, especially in childhood now and we’re seeing the benefit especially with soluble fibers.”

EXPERTS SAY ADDING “KID FRIENDLY” FOODS HIGH IN FIBER TO YOUR CHILD’S DIET, LIKE FRUITS AND CEREALS, COULD HELP PREVENT MANY DISEASES.

Rick Davis/UF Researcher: “In those who have obesity, diabetes, or pre-diabetes, or a history of diabetes in their family, or maybe early elevations of cholesterol that they’re not ready for medications, high fiber diets can be part of that regiment as far as maybe preventing or delaying the disease too.”

EXPERTS SAY A CHILD’S INTAKE OF FIBER SHOULD EQUAL HIS OR HER AGE PLUS FIVE GRAMS, UP TO A MAXIMUM OF 35 GRAMS A DAY.

Amir Erez/UF Researcher: “People who witnessed rude behavior from supervisors or even from peers, they function less well cognitively. They think less well, and they are less helpful and they actually become more hostile.”

IN THIS UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA STUDY, RESEARCHERS ARRANGED FOR A TEST GROUP TO PERFORM SIMPLE TASKS, LIKE LISTING THE USES FOR A BRICK. THEY PERFORMED MUCH WORSE ON THOSE TASKS WHEN SEEING SOMEONE TREATED RUDELY THAN THOSE WHO DIDN’T.

Amir Erez/UF Researcher: “People came up with less uses for a brick in their rude condition, they also came up with less creative solutions. And not only that, they came up with more hostile solutions. For example, hitting someone over the head, breaking a window, smashing the experimenter’s face.”

RESULTS SHOW THOSE WHO OBSERVED RUDE BEHAVIOR ALSO PERFORMED WORSE ON MORE CREATIVE TASKS. EXPERTS SAY PEOPLE SEEM TO FOCUS TOO MUCH ON THE RUDE BEHAVIOR, PREVENTING THEM FROM THINKING CLEARLY.

Dr Andrea Dixon/UF education researcher: “What that means is taking a significant individual interest in the student. It’s not just involving them in a sports team or an academic group, its also taking one-on-one time with students and saying you matter to us; when you’re not here we notice you’re not here and that takes effort and that takes attention.”

Experts say at least one in ten adolescents will experience anxiety and depression, and the levels for younger teens or pre-teens are even higher.

Dr Andrea Dixon/UF education researcher: “What’s interesting is that at the age range of 11-14, which is what we consider young adolescents, one in five is expected to as least experience some sort of anxiety and/or depression, which are coupled together, so rates in the United States are very high.”

Researchers say extra effort and attention from loved ones lowers anxiety levels, and builds a strong sense of self-worth.

Charles Telesco/UF astronomer: “The bigger the telescope the finer the detail that you can see. And the fineness of the detail is almost as important to an astronomer as the faintness of the object, because the fineness of the detail tells us about the structure of a disk where planets are forming. It tells us the structure of a galaxy, the detailed structure of a galaxy that’s just-forming out at maybe ten billion light years.”

UF astronomers have built a special camera called “Canari-Cam” to use with the telescope. Just as the telescope itself see more detail by bringing in more light, Canari-Cam will allow astronomers to see some cooler objects that bright stars tend to obscure.

Charles Telesco/UF astronomer: “The camera has the capability of putting a little spot to block the bright star so that we can then look for faint objects near the star. So we can look for very, very cool planets in the process of forming.”

UF astronomers say the telescope’s so powerful and easy to control, it could detect an ordinary candle from twenty thousand miles away.