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New way to save Africa’s beleaguered soils

By Eric Sorensen, WSU science writer

A Washington State University researcher and two WSU graduates make a case in the journal Nature for a new type of agriculture that could restore the beleaguered soils of Africa and help the continent feed itself in the coming decades.

Their system, which they call “perenniation,” mixes food crops with trees and perennial plants, which live for two years or more.

Thousands of farmers are already trying variations of perenniation, which reduces the need for artificial inputs while improving soil and in some cases dramatically increasing yields. One woman quadrupled her corn crop, letting her raise pigs and goats and sell surplus grain for essentials and her grandchildren’s school fees.

WSU soil scientist John Reganold wrote the article with Jerry Glover (’97 B.S. soil science, ’98 B.A. philosophy, ’01 Ph.D. soil science) of the USAID Bureau for Food Security and Cindy Cox (’00 M.S. plant pathology/phytopathology) of the International Food Policy Research Institute. The article, “Plant perennials to save Africa’s soils,” appears in the Sept. 20 issue of Nature. Continue story →

Homeless women’s stories shared in book, video

Book cover

By Brenda Alling, WSU Vancouver

Homeless women’s stories as shared in a book by a Washington State University faculty member are featured in a two-part video to be broadcast on cable TV six times in the next two weeks.

The video, “Women Surviving Homelessness,” includes Desiree Hellegers, WSU Vancouver associate professor of English, and narrator-activists whose stories are featured in Hellegers’ 2011 book, No Room of her Own: Women’s Stories of Homelessness, Life, Death, and Resistance (Palgrave Macmillan). Hellegers is a founding co-director of the Center for Social and Environmental Justice at WSU Vancouver.

Her book is based on extended interviews with 15 women gathered over nearly 20 years. It illuminates the physical challenges of homelessness on bodies already compromised by health issues and harrowing conditions, including routine threats of sexual and physical violence. Continue story →

Holocaust work informs professor’s race studies courses

C. Richard King
C. Richard King

By Phyllis Shier, College of Arts and Sciences

Research by a Washington State University professor last summer at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies (CAHS) has changed his teaching and his approach to culture and racism.

It also resulted in the recruiting of a lecturer who will speak in collaboration with WSU’s 2012 Common Reading Program in November.

C. Richard King, a professor in the Department of Critical Culture, Gender, and Race Studies, spent a month at CAHS conducting research and incorporating themes of the Holocaust and anti-Semitism into his WSU courses. » More …

Pioneering anti-cancer chemist to receive highest honor

George R. Pettit
George R. "Bob" Pettit

By Eric Sorensen, WSU science writer

George R. Pettit, an organic chemist who pioneered the search for anti-cancer compounds in marine organisms as well as insects and plants, has been awarded Washington State University’s highest alumni honor, the Regents’ Distinguished Alumnus Award.

The 1952 graduate (B.S., chemistry) will be will be honored at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20, in the Compton Union Building (CUB) Auditorium at WSU Pullman, where he will deliver a free, public address, “From the Indian Ocean to Global Clinics: Discovering new paths to improve cancer treatment.”

“Those who know of Bob Pettit consider him a pioneer, innovator, and simply a giant in the field of cancer drug discovery,” says Cliff Berkman, a WSU organic chemist who also works on anti-cancer agents. “More than anyone, Bob successfully translated his early fascination with nature’s creations to a professional career devoted to discovering and developing new drugs to battle nature’s most grievous diseases.”  Continue story →

Online bioethics covers life, death issues

Bill Kabasenche
Bill Kabasenche

By Richard Miller, WSU Global Campus

A lesbian couple wants a baby genetically related to both of them. They’re considering using sperm from one woman’s brother. He just turned 18. Should they ask him?

The situation involved the relative of a Washington State University student. The student asked Bill Kabasenche, WSU assistant professor of philosophy, for advice. He saw a “wild conglomeration” of issues:

  • Is the brother old enough to give informed consent?
  • Is he old enough to become a father?
  • What responsibilities would he have?
  • Why is it important to have genetically related kids?
  • If genetics are that important, then they’d be equally important to the brother, which means he’d have significant responsibilities.
  • Is parenthood fundamentally a relationship of love or of biology?
  • Is the couple using the baby as an instrument to validate the relationship?
  • If people can design their babies, does that replace unconditional love with a sense of comparison shopping?

Kabasenche’s specialty is bioethics. He teaches several courses on the topic and is co-director of the ethics committee at Pullman Regional Hospital. He’s also the force behind WSU’s new online graduate certificate in bioethics. Continue story →