Tagged: biology

Spearheading protection of Malagasy rainforest

Creation of preserve is a dream come true for professors Mitch Irwin and Karen Samonds

  • April 9, 2018
An international nonprofit organization founded by two Northern Illinois University professors and a foreign colleague is now spearheading the creation of a 65,000-acre, high-altitude rainforest preserve in Madagascar. Anthropology professor…

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Fixing damaged ecosystems: How much does restoration help?

Study: Nature can bounce back but full recovery is elusive

  • February 28, 2018
DeKalb, Ill. – Across the globe, billions of dollars are spent annually on repairing ecosystems damaged by people. Forests denuded by logging. Rivers polluted by industry. Grasslands converted to agriculture….

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Reclaiming the prairie

Study finds Nachusa Grasslands restoration is working in the soil, too

  • July 18, 2017
Summer is abloom at Nachusa Grasslands, where the warmth of July is igniting an explosion of color. Purple coneflowers point to the sky. Big bluestem grass sways in the breeze….

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Study examines life history of Midwestern rattlesnake

Scientists show how climate, geography impact endangered Eastern Massasauga

  • February 14, 2017
Most Midwesterners have never encountered a rattlesnake—but the snakes do indeed exist in these parts, though their numbers are dwindling. While you won’t find them slithering along Chicago’s Michigan Avenue,…

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Bird’s-eye view

NIU researchers using drone to study effect of bison return to Nachusa

  • October 12, 2016
The Nachusa Grasslands near Dixon, Ill., just a 45-minute drive from the NIU campus, had a new visitor flying overhead this past summer, but it wasn’t one of the nature preserve’s many…

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Colorful past

NIU biologists help sequence petunia genomes

  • July 12, 2016
Two Northern Illinois University biologists are key members of an international consortium of scientists that has sequenced and analyzed the DNA of two wild varieties of petunia—a four-year effort that…

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Battling extinction

Study led by NIU biologist identifies proven method of stemming loss of biodiversity

  • March 21, 2016
Here’s some good news related to efforts geared toward slowing the extinction crisis facing our planet. Continued investment in invasive mammal eradications on islands offers a highly effective opportunity to…

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Slaying the ‘superbugs’

NIU researchers make strides toward development of new antibiotics

  • January 27, 2016
A century ago, in the pre-antibiotic era, minor injuries and common infections could cause life-threatening illnesses. That’s why one of the greatest medical successes of the 20th century was the…

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