News Stories - Page 779

With flu season just around the corner, a flu shot is an excellent preventive measure, especially if you have diabetes. "People with diabetes are about three times more likely to die from influenza (flu) than those without it," said Connie Crawley.

Your child may start thinking about lunch during math class. But you should think about it when it's packed, said a University of Georgia scientist. "Food safety for a packed lunch depends on how it's packed and what is packed," said Connie Crawley.

The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences opened a new Activities Center. The center, above, housed in the historic Four Towers Building on College Station Road in Athens, has a museum of agricultural and college history, a conference center and offices for UGA Ag Alumni and student organizations. Interactive kiosks, below, tell of the latest scientific discoveries in the college, the history of the college and career opportunities for students.

North Georgia lawns are under attack. Fall armyworms are chewing their way through turf, leaving destruction in their wake. And University of Georgia scientists say they've only just begun to bite. "This year is the worst for caterpillars of all kinds that I've seen in 20 years," said Will Hudson.

Believe it or not, some people in Georgia are happy to see fire ant mounds popping up on their property. With the help of University of Georgia entomologists, some south Georgia farmers are reducing farming costs with the help of the fiery red pests.

A University of Georgia Extension Service colleague forwarded this query about a mysterious squirrel disease: "I live in Midtown (a neighborhood in Atlanta), and some of the squirrels that frequent my bird feeder have big and small lumps on their backs, throats and bellies. I've seen both male and female squirrels with these thick, tumor-looking lumps. ... It's disconcerting because there are several like this, and I wonder if they're breeding and spreading this disease, whatever it might be. Secondarily, I worry about my cats which sit in my windows. Anyway, should I be concerned? I actually like squirrels, and I hate to see the little guys looking so pitiful." Those "tumor-looking lumps" on the squirrels are almost certainly the larvae of Cuterebra emasculator -- a bot fly.

Sidney Law didn't intend to become such a popular guy. But once farmers learned Law could lead them to hay at easy prices, his phone started ringing off the hook.

University of Georgia scientists said the rain Hurricane Earl dropped across the state provided desperately needed water to Georgia crops. But we could have done without the wind. The wind hit Georgia cotton hard, said Steve Brown.

A recent landscape trend is to use more ground covers to provide a low-maintenance, naturalized look. Ground covers are excellent plants for beds under trees, where most shrubs do poorly due to competition

Tired of the same old lettuce in your winter salad? Try a little Cichorium endivia. Endive and escarole, the common names for Cichorium endivia, are very common in the islands of the Mediterranean and in Greece. They are related hardy annual vegetables. Endive and escarole are delicacies when blanched and used for salads or as a garnish.