New England Public Radio

After More Than 30 Year Break, The Gypsy Moths Return

The gypsy moth is back! In the eastern part of the state especially, vacationers and residents can’t help but notice the decimated trees left by the very hungry caterpillars. But Western Mass hasn’t been spared entirely: there are red oak stands along route 116 in Amherst that have been chomped, as well as areas in Palmer, Monson, Longmeadow and Belchertown. To learn about gypsy moths, New England Public Radio’s Carrie Healy visited a lab at UMass Amherst where, about thirty years ago – the gypsy moth was the focus of much attention. Invasive forest insect specialist Joseph Elkinton was there, back then, too.

Click on the play button (above) to hear UMass entomologist Joseph Elkinton explain how the acorn crops together with mice, help keep gypsy moth populations in check, in a conversation with New England Public Radio’s Carrie Healy.

Study: Bejeweled Blitz As Brain Training

When you see people with their heads buried in their phones, possibly playing a game like Bejeweled Blitz, don’t judge them too harshly. New research finds the visual search and matching app may have potential as a brain training tool. New England Public Radio’s Carrie Healy talked about the study, by UMass psychologist Susan Whitbourne.

 

 

For more on the brain, NEPR’s Karen Brown has found that some other services marketed as helping the brain…come up well short in the research department.

UMass Researchers Work On Tornado Radar, Warning Systems with Univ. of Oklahoma

Monday’s deadly tornado outside Oklahoma City leaves questions of how people can prepare for such a sudden, destructive weather event.  Researchers at UMass Amherst and the University of Oklahoma have worked together for several years to develop more accurate tracking and warning systems for tornadoes. But those systems can only do so much.

The two universities have developed a mobile radar system that will be tested later this year in Texas. And Stephen Frasier, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UMass Amherst, says his department has also been involved in developing more advanced tornado warning systems. But Frasier says while new technology can help citizens and meteorologists prepare, it can’t prevent damage in a major storm.

“It’s going to come, and it’s going to do damage, and there’s really not much you can do about it. The best you can do is issue warnings that people will listen to and respond to.”

Frasier says it’s important not to over-warn during strong storms, so that people are responsive when a real tornado hits. He says affected communities in Oklahoma may reconsider how and where they build homes and buildings.

“One of the outcomes from these damage surveys will always be recommendations for improved structures and building codes to help reduce the loss of life in the future.”

Frazier says tornadoes are less of a concern in the Northeast, with just one or two hitting Massachusetts each year. He says tornadoes like the one that struck western Massachusetts nearly two years ago are still very rare.