Astronomy

• Astronomers at Rutgers and Pennsylvania State universities have discovered galaxies in the distant universe that are ancestors of spiral galaxies like our Milky Way. These ancient objects, some of the first galaxies ever to form, are being observed as they looked 12 billion years ago when the universe was a mere two billion years old.

Economic Development

• Rutgers is a key participant in a $5.1 million U.S. Department of Labor Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) grant. The grant is intended to serve as a catalyst for transforming the economy through coordinated workforce development in central New Jersey's bioscience corridor.

Education

• "Networked Ocean World," funded with a $2.6 million, five-year grant from the National Science Foundation, will bring the newest wave of under-the-sea exploration data and discoveries to students in grades K–12.
• Two grants totaling $3 million will enhance the teaching of molecular biology in New Jersey high schools. The grants from the National Science Foundation will fund two programs — "Bioinformatics: Learning by Doing" and "HiGene: A Genome Sequencing Project for High Schools."

Environment

• A new Rutgers website provides a clearinghouse for information on climate change. The site, climatechange.rutgers.edu, is the first step in the university's effort to bring together resources from many institutions to understand climate change.

Food/Agriculture

• Using natural antimicrobial agents such as cloves, oregano, thyme, and paprika, Rutgers chemists and food scientists have developed biodegradable polymers that can block the formation of bacteria on food surfaces and packaging, thus preventing food contamination and spoilage.
• The Rutgers Plant Genome Initiative recently deciphered the complete DNA of rice, providing information that could reduce hunger in the large proportion of the world’s population whose diet depends on this plant.

• A consortium spearheaded by Rutgers has been awarded $42.5 million over five years to create one of two academic groups that will form the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine to help injured soldiers overcome severe limb, head, face, and burn injuries.
• Researchers at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy have shown that administering a combination of the widely used drugs Celebrex and Lipitor stops the progression of early prostate cancer to its more aggressive and potentially fatal stage. Human clinical trials are being planned.
• Professor Suzie Chen has found that riluzole, a drug used to treat Lou Gehrig's disease, slows the growth of melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer. A human clinical trial is in progress.
• Rutgers' Center for Military Biomaterials Research has helped develop a breakthrough spray-on dressing for injuries. GelSpray Liquid Bandage by BioCure Inc. received clearance for marketing from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

• Rutgers research is providing new insights into how the powerful toxin ricin, feared for its bioterrorism potential, attacks cells. The findings could help scientists combat this deadly poison.

Social Work

• The School of Social Work has been awarded $99,200 by JBS/Aguirre International with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to study the social work profession and social work education in 21 countries of the former Soviet Bloc.

The Arts

• The Salgo collection, the largest and most important collection of 19th- and 20th-century Hungarian art outside of Central Europe, has been acquired by Rutgers' Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Musuem and is the basis for an exhibit now on display.