The Corne¬ Daily Sun
Inside Iconic Collegetown Bagels
By OLIVIA LaBONTE and JONATHAN MONG Sun Contributor and Sun News Editor
Just outside Cornell’s bustling campus lies a place where the aroma of freshly baked bagels mingles with the fervor of student life. Collegetown Bagels — also known as CTB among students — stands as not only an eatery but also an icon and community space entrenched in the fabric of both Cornell and Ithaca’s culture.
A revered hub, CTB has shaped the essence of student experiences since its founding in 1976. Corey Ryan Earle ’07, who teaches American Studies 2001: The First American University — a class on Cornell’s history — encapsulated the sentiment that binds generations of
Cornellians to CTB in an email to The Sun.
“CTB is a shared experience for Cornellians,” Earle said. “At a large, decentralized university like Cornell, there aren’t many things that nearly everyone has experienced. But CTB comes close, so it plays a role in creating a sense of community.”
Since its inception, CTB has woven a narrative that intertwines with Cornell’s essence, evolving from a humble establishment into an integral part of the university’s tapestry. Its journey, steeped in history, mirrors the evolution of Cornell itself. From its early days to becoming an iconic fixture, CTB has etched itself into the collective memory of Cornellians.
Nearly 50 Years on College Avenue: A History of CTB Collegetown Bagels opened in 1976, founded by “couple guys from Long Island,” and has been on College Avenue for its entire existence. Current owner Gregar Brous — then at Ithaca College — joined the team in 1978, and purchased the business in 1981, eventually bringing his daughter Lindsey Brous ’12 into the fold as well.
“I liked the business – I had gotten familiar with it. And it got under my skin. So I decided I should go and open up a place somewhat similar in a different city, similar kind of market. I liked the market,” Brous said in an interview with The Sun.
Fewer Students to be Admitted Early Decision
By BREANNA FERREIRA Sun Staff Writer
High school seniors who feel a deep connection to Cornell may choose to apply in the early decision track, which increases their odds of acceptance through a binding agreement. But less students will be offered admission to the University this way starting this upcoming admission cycle.
In an effort to increase equity in the admissions process, the Faculty Senate discussed the implications of fewer students being admitted in the early decision round going forward at their Oct. 11 meeting.
Last year, Cornell admitted 1,670 students to the Class of 2027 during the early decision application round in December. Out of the 4,994 accepted students to Cornell’s Class of 2027, approximately 33 percent of the students applied to and were accepted in this accelerated process.
Applicants to the class of 2026 were about three times more likely to be accepted during the early decision round than they were during the regular decision round, with an acceptance rate of 5.7 percent through early decision compared to 17.6 percent for regular decision.
The University's Presidential Task Force on Undergraduate Admissions provided recommendations in September for how Cornell could alter and improve their admissions process.
Tompkins County will receive $8.1 million to completely resurface Meadow and Fulton Street and extend their lifespans, due to a 10 percent increase in funding for New York’s Southern Tier as part of the 2024 state budget.
New York State Senator Lea Webb (D) announced the increase on Tuesday. The funds will be used to improve infrastructure and rural maintenance across the Southern Tier, with $27 million to refurbish highways, local roads, bridges, railroads and potholes across the region.
Infrastructure concerns across the Southern Tier have persisted over the last couple of years. The issue has prompted recent federal and state investments, such as 2021 $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — which includes investments in the Southern
Tier — and the 2015 $500 million Upstate Revitalization Initiative.
“We all know the frustration of hitting potholes and taking detours, and the importance of arriving at our destination safely.”
Sen. Lea Webb
Local elections, including Ithaca’s 2023 Common Council elections, have also made clear that constituents increasingly seek representatives who will address infrastructure issues, with the issue dominating the 2023 Ward 3 race. In addition, a 2022 poll conducted by Data for Progress found that 90 percent of New Yorkers support state action to
address green energy infrastructure, which the state intends to be an increasing majority of all infrastructure projects by 2030.
Webb addressed infrastructure grievances in the budget announcement.
“Our highways, roads and bridges are crucial for connecting rural families across the Southern Tier. We all know the frustration of hitting potholes and taking detours, and the importance of arriving at our destination safely,” Webb said in a press release. “With this historic state funding, our community will have a significantly smoother and safer ride.”
The funds also aim to address the impacts of extreme weather on local residents and infrastructure, with $3 million dedicated to addressing extreme winter recovery funding.
The Southern Tier has been increasingly plagued by unusual weather as part of the globally changing climate. Just last year, for instance, thousands faced power outages across
See ADMISSIONS page 3
The University is obligated to regularly review its admissions practices to ensure that the application process effectively recruits and admits a diverse group of talented students from across the world. See CTB page 4
the Southern Tier due to storms and strong winds. According to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Ithaca is projected to face as high as six to seven heavy rain events and heat waves per year by the 2050s.
The issue of extreme weather was highlighted by Tompkins County Highway Director Jeffrey Smith.
“With the current freeze/thaw cycle common in present weather patterns, the timing of this funding could not be better,” Smith said in a press release. “Receiving this critical funding to maintain Southern Tier Roadways positively impacts every village/city/town and county roadways.”
The funds will be implemented beginning in the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
JULIA NAGEL / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
At its current location under the dormitory Sheldon Court, CTB continues to serve Cornellians coffee and bagels daily.
MICHAEL WENYE LI / SUN FILE PHOTO
By LUCAS SANTIAGO-KERMANI Sun Staff Writer
Brown Butter Jonah Gershon '24 shares his journey of creating a novel stick of brown butter, which may revolutionize baking. | Page 3
Farewell messages written on CTB's wall prior to its relocation across College Avenue in 2020.
MICHAEL SUGUITAN / SUN FILE PHOTO
The remains of CTB in June 2020 as Student Agencies decided to replace the building with apartments and Ithaca Beer Company.
KATIE SIMS / SUN FILE PHOTO
CTB sits at its prior location, at the present-day Student Agencies apartment building, in 2017, where it was located for 25 years.
Fewer Accepted ED Gershon ’24 Creates Novel Brown Butter Stick Company
Per recommendations from the task force, one such change already underway this application cycle is reducing the number of students admitted through early decision — a process that is designed for applicants who prioritize Cornell as their first choice, as it is a binding decision requiring a student to withdraw all their other college applications upon acceptance to the University.
Most students admitted to Cornell are typically accepted through the regular decision round, a non-binding decision, with applicants applying in January and receiving a decision on Ivy Day at the end of March.
Te proportion of students admitted early decision at other Ivy League universities that offer the admissions track are similar to the percentage at Cornell, with 32 percent of Dartmouth’s Class of 2026 and 34 percent of Brown’s Class of 2027. Despite the similar proportions, Cornell has begun reducing early decision admitted students.
Former interim vice president for enrollment Jason C. Locke told Te Sun in 2018 that legacy students have a greater chance of being accepted in the early decision round as a result of a mutual commitment relationship. A representative of Cornell declined to comment on the University’s early decision application process.
Several students told Te Sun that they applied early decision because they thought it would increase their chance of admission.
Emerson Mellon ’26, a student in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, applied early decision during the 2021-2022 application cycle.
“I [applied] early decision because Cornell was my dream school, and I figured it would be the best chance of getting in,” Mellon said. “Usually [Cornell] has higher admittance rates for early decision [applicants] over regular decision [applicants].”
Yiwei Yan ’25, a student in the College of Engineering, also applied early decision. Yan figured her chances of acceptance would be higher if she chose to submit her application to Cornell early on, despite it being binding.
“Tere is a higher acceptance rate for ED,” said Yan. “Tere was a chance that I could get it [through the regular decision track], but I needed to risk it a little bit.”
Other students, however, told The Sun that they applied through the regular decision track because they wanted to keep their college choices open.
Jennifer Zhu ’26, a student in the College of Arts and Sciences, applied regular decision to Cornell since she did not want to limit her college choices.
“Going into the application process, I wanted to have a broader range of schools to choose from and applying early decision would restrict that if I got in,” Zhu said.
To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.
Cornell Stays Test-Optional Amid New Digital Format
By SAMANTHA PALOMBO
Sun Contributor
While Cornell continues to devalue standardized testing in its admission process with test-optional and test-blind policies, applicants to Cornell will see a digitalized, shortened SAT exam, beginning in 2024.
Many students told The Sun that they view the shift to a digital SAT as an impact of the continuing trend away from universities’ historical reliance on standardized tests — a shift that has particularly persisted at Cornell.
A representative of Cornell declined to comment on test-blind and test-optional policies and about policy adjustments due to the digital SAT. However, Prof. Avery August, immunology, who serves as the deputy provost of the Faculty Senate, said that the University will “continue to evaluate the test-optional experiment” throughout all of Cornell’s colleges to decide upon the appropriate “use of standardized testing as part of our admissions process” at the Oct. 11 Faculty Senate meeting.
In 2020, Cornell was among colleges that shifted application requirements to reflect fewer standardized testing opportunities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At that point, the University established that Cornell’s test-optional policy was not permanent.
Cornell currently does not require any first-year applicants to submit SAT or ACT exam scores, and three colleges currently hold entirely testblind policies, meaning standardized
By SABRINA KHALEQUE Sun Contributor
While on Food Network’s “Christmas Cookie Challenge” in 2022, Jonah Gershon ’24 attempted to cook brown butter from scratch and was frustrated due to its messy and time-consuming nature.
“Brown butter is used a lot in holiday baking, so it was something I wanted to put into the cookies,” Gershon said. “Working in those harsher time constraints made me think: Why do I have to go through all this hassle? ... Why can’t I just take it off the shelf?”
That, Gershon said, was the moment the initial idea blossomed for Spekld, a startup that produces premade sticks of brown butter, saving bakers the 10-15 minutes typically spent standing by the stove as the butter slowly melts to achieve the desired brown hue and caramelized taste.
Brown butter, a beloved delicacy for many bakers, often becomes a culinary hassle when attempted to be created from scratch, leaving many cooks dissatisfied. It can be used in several cooking recipes, from cookies to cake frosting.
Gershon was discovered by Food Network when a scout stumbled across his food Instagram page and sent him a
direct message to apply to the “Christmas Cookie Challenge.” He applied for the competition and was selected as one of the five bakers to compete in making the best holiday cookies, with the episode being filmed in April 2022.
“Food was always a big part of my life,” Gershon said. “I was always really creative as well, so I just found cooking as a way to combine my passions for food and art together.”
Even though the idea for over-the-shelf brown butter first sparked during the competition, Gershon did not pursue this idea until he took the elective course Hotel Administration 6610: Communication for
Entrepreneurs, offered by the hotel school.
While taking this course, Gershon learned about entrepreneurship, which helped him in the initial stages of building Spekld. He particularly learned the importance of customer discovery, an active process of understanding what your potential customers need and want. As his startup progressed, he expanded his network through entrepreneurial programs at Cornell, interviewing more than a hundred people about their experiences and challenges with brown butter.
test scores are not considered in the admissions process for all applicants, regardless of their desire to submit scores. The test-blind colleges include the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the S.C. Johnson College of Business and the College of Architecture, Art and Planning.
While some colleges, such as the University of Florida, Georgetown University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have since added standardized test requirements back to their admissions processes, other colleges, including all eight Ivy League schools, have continued to devalue test scores. On March 1, Columbia University became the first Ivy League school to opt for a permanent test-optional policy.
In 2020, the temporary suspension of the SAT during the pandemic sparked a wave of speculation over whether this measure would serve as a catalyst for a more profound reassessment of the entire testing landscape.
The University expanded its test-optional and test-blind policies for applicants in 2023 and 2024. The University’s policy for 2025 applicants will be released in the spring of 2024, according to the Cornell Undergraduate Admissions website.
The SAT has been administered as a paper-based test since its start in the 1920s. Starting in 2024, students will use a new app called “Bluebook” to take all exam sections.
To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.
Samantha
sp2293@cornell.edu.
Breanna Ferreira can be reached at bferreira@cornellsun.com.
Cookie challenge | Gershon ’24’s idea to market premade sticks of brown butter stemmed from his baking competition experience on Food Network.
COURTESY OF JONAH GERSHON
See SPEKLD page 4
Palombo can be reached at
CTB Shapes Cornell Experience
CTB Continued from page 1
“And the guy that owned the place said to me, ‘Why don’t you just buy this place?’ It was right at home, I was familiar with the location, with the business, and ended up bringing my family into it when we bought it — and here we are today.”
Despite admitting he had no vision for the company when he bought it, Brous then purchased the Ithaca Bakery in 1989 — the two brands share the same menu offerings and production process — and moved CTB’s flagship location in Collegetown to its former home at 415 College Ave. in 1995. Between the two brands, Brous has seven locations across Ithaca.
“What we did was move all of our production into [the Ithaca Bakery location on 400 North Meadow St.]. So it gave us a commissary — a base of operations that we could feed our other units from,” Brous said.
“And [the Ithaca Bakery] was an iconic name and business that had been around since 1910, so we had to kind of navigate how to maintain both brands. We kept both names — we felt like they both stood on their own and should be partners and established on their own.”
But Student Agencies — a student-run real estate company and the owner of 415 College Ave. — announced it would demolish the building in
which CTB was located after an attempt to have it designated as a landmark failed in 2019, ultimately replacing it with the Student Agencies apartment building and an Ithaca Beer Company location.
CTB was thus forced to move to its current location across the street at 420 College Ave. in 2020. Before the move, Ithacans came together to support CTB, leaving messages on the windows before the building’s demolition in June 2020.
“We were very thankful for the support,” Brous said. “We were disappointed with the city that they didn’t see [415 College Ave.] as something that should be maintained, because the building had great history and was a key element to the feel of Collegetown.”
As part of the move — and due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which happened at the same time — CTB operated a food truck on College Avenue.
“We pulled our trailer up on the curb and just ran out of a food truck instead,” Brous said. “And it was actually fun. It was a good way for us to stay connected to the community, to be relevant and to stay out there where people can really see what we’re doing.”
Brous said that the bakery location — where all the baked goods are made — operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week for bagel production, even
though the storefront only operates during relatively standard business hours. Bagels are then boiled at each location following their delivery every morning. Cornell and CTB
Earle, reflecting on CTB’s broader significance, noted CTB’s presence in Ithaca beyond the iconic Collegetown location, echoing its connection to both the University and the Ithaca community.
“CTB is more than just its Collegetown location, and the Ithaca Bakery locations are popular beyond the Cornell community,” Earle said. “I think the business is an important part of the Ithaca restaurant scene.”
Earle said CTB is such an integral part of the Ithaca community that it has become a meeting spot for alumni returning to campus and for Cornellians who have guests in Ithaca.
“Because it’s such a signature stop for visiting alumni, I find myself there whenever a friend is in town,” Earle said. “And I have many fond memories of sangria with friends on the CTB patio in Collegetown on a warm evening, both as a student and an alumnus.”
To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun. com.
Olivia LaBonte can be reached at oml@cornell.edu. Jonathan Mong can be reached at jmong@cornellsun.com.
Hotelie Creates Spekld
SPEKLD Continued from page 3
Cornell programs and resources further helped Gershon bring his idea for Spekld to life. He was a runner-up for both the Big Ideas Competition, a contest for students who have promising business ideas, and the Cornell Hospitality Pitch Deck Competition where students compete for prizes for the best pitch deck.
“If we can figure out the production, ... I do think [Spekld] can be a very big product within the food industry.”
Jonah Gershon ’24
“I didn’t realize the extent of Cornell’s resources until I actually started this venture,” Gershon said. “And since then, it’s been overwhelming with the amount of support I’ve received.”
Along with Cornell’s resources, Gershon also found an opportunity in the greater northeastern region of New York, particularly within the dairy industry. A pivotal experience for Gershon came through his participation in the Northeastern Dairy Product Innovation Competition in the summer of 2023 where he became a finalist and received $20,000 to work on his idea.
“[The Northeastern Dairy
Product Innovation Competition] was kind of a big deal for me because I was the only student in the competition,” Gershon said. “Eight of the 10 finalists were already running their own dairy farms, ice cream shops or businesses.”
He spent the summer working with dairy industry mentors, spending time at the Dairy Plant on campus and creating samples for the brown butter sticks. At the end of the summer, Gershon held a Spekld popup at a bakery called Small State Provisions in Avon, Connecticut, which proved to be successful as he was able to sell his product for the first time to customers.
Gershon has been challenged with determining the most effective equipment for butter production. In order to test different machinery, he visited the Cornell Food Venture Center Pilot Plant in Geneva. Gershon said that once he determines the most productive equipment, his next step is finding the right manufacturers to commercialize.
“The trends of brown butter are increasing year after year, and more and more recipes are coming with brown butter. The feedback I received has been really great,” Gershon said. “If we can figure out the production, and the production is at a reasonable cost, I do think [Spekld] can be a very big product within the food industry.”
Sabrina Khaleque can be reached at sk2742@cornell.edu.
The Corne¬ Daily Sun
Independent Since 1880 141st Editorial Board
’24
NOAH DO ’24
SOFIA RUBINSON ’24
Managing Editor
KATIE CHEN ’25
Business Manager
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Advertising Manager
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From the Editors
A Moving Sunset
THE END OF THE SEMESTER soon approaches, the days grow shorter and The Sun's 141st board bids goodbye to 2023 — an exciting, yet difficult year for us at Cornell, Ithaca and the rest of the world.
At The Sun, we have made it our priority to be present, document, report truthfully and opine on some of the most special moments for us Cornellians: including Dragon Day, Slope Day and our hockey nights at Lynah Rink. But we also made a commitment to report the events of the changing world, and how it contours Ithaca and the nation. From student protests, local elections and even the conflicts around the world; we've written on how Cornellians have done their part to repair and improve the world we live in. And we're proud to have sketched these moments into history on our pages.
Shortly, the hilltop will quiet down. Cornell's lights will dim, students will return to all corners of the world for a moment to rest. During this period The Sun will pause its print production and slow its online content.
As we conclude our 143rd year at The Sun, we wish to thank you for your ongoing support. Independent student journalism has demonstrated a unique power to disseminate truth and help us engage in dialogue — we couldn't do it without the commitment of our readers and donors.
As the sun sets on our final day of this semsester, we hope you remember: Your words and your actions have the ability to move and inspire. And they have definitely inspired us.
— Hugo Amador, Opinion Editor
Douae Maarouf '27
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We want to hear what you have to say about today's paper or any of our pieces.
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Joseph Margulies
Joseph Margulies is a civil rights attorney and Professor of Law and Government in the College of Arts and Sciences. His research focuses on the American criminal justice system, cruelty and inequity. He can be reached at jm347@cornell.edu. Tere Is No Tem,
Tere Is Only Us
IMARIAN CABALLO ’25
have been at Cornell for 10 years and in academia for two decades and have never seen so many students in so much distress. A great many Muslim and Arab students feel unseen, unheard and unsafe. More recently, their ranks have been swelled by the many Jewish students who feel the campus has become menacing. And of course, the person suspected of sending the sickening anti-Semitic postings is Asian, so we gird ourselves for a wave of anti-Asian hate.
Meanwhile, there was a report a few weeks ago of a man carrying a gun just off campus, and armed security officers began to patrol White Hall, where I work and which houses the Government Department and the Department of Near Eastern Studies. There was an arson recently in the bathroom down the corridor from my office. CUPD says the report of a gunman was “unfounded,” but the officers remain.
The pain is not identical for all who suffer; pain never is. Jewish students feel anew what Muslim and Arab students have felt for some time. It is a sense of isolation that gives way to insecurity and fear. But it is sharper for being newly felt, and their trauma is real. Muslim and Arab students are reminded every day of their distinct marginalization. As I wrote this, President Pollack released another statement: “[O]n Sunday night, shortly after we learned of the threats, I went to sit with our Jewish students at the Center for Jewish Living and I returned the next morning with Governor Hochul, and for dinner that evening. It was so heartening to spend time with our students, who expressed strength and resilience even in the face of these awful threats.”
Perhaps it need not be said, but the President and Governor have not broken bread with our Muslim and Arab students, who have all but abandoned the hope that the solicitude extended to distressed Jewish students will also be extended to them. In place of universal solicitude for shared pain, we engage in morally vacuous debates about whose pain came first and whose suffering is more grievous, as though empathy and compassion were zero-sum.
Some trace our problem to confusion about the difference between protected and unprotected speech. I agree that many people need a refresher on this score, but ending their ignorance will not solve our problem. The problem is that we have wounded each other — as much by protected speech as by unprotected conduct. These wounds cannot be left to fester and cannot be healed by the exercise of rights.
If the campus is a community, then the right to speak must be accompanied by the duty to repair. It does no disservice to freedom of expression to expect that those who have caused injury listen to — and genuinely hear — those they have injured in order that they might understand the pain they have caused and the harm they have done. That is why the University should pursue a response that is grounded in the principles of restorative justice.
Restorative models have a long history. In their modern form, they operate alongside, and sometimes in lieu of, formal processes like the criminal legal system — processes that aim to cast out rather than bring back, to punish rather than repair. Importantly, they are not a place to “win” arguments. They are not a moment to prove who is right or wrong about a particular topic, and they do not replace vigorous public debate about contentious issues.
Instead, they are an opportunity to redress harms by bringing together those who have been injured with those who have injured them in a safe environment that guarantees the dignity, respect and privacy of all. Guided by professionally trained facilitators, restorative models look backward to repair the harm that has been done, and forward to build practices that make harm less likely in the future, regardless of the topic.
I come to restorative models because of my work in and with the criminal legal system. But at times like this, it is not my work that draws me to these models. I write as a Jew who believes in Israel’s right to exist, and who condemns without reservation or hesitation the slaughter of civilians. I write as a human rights lawyer who believes Israel’s behavior in Gaza and the West Bank is and has long been horrific. I write as a teacher, who every day sees young people in great distress.
But most of all, I write as a human being, who long ago concluded that the evil upon which all others are built — the scaffolding from which every Black man has ever swung and the chamber within which every Jew has ever been gassed — is the toxic belief that They are not like Us, and that our safety comes from their annihilation. Lately, thinking like this abounds, on campus and beyond. Restorative models set themselves against this madness, proclaiming that there is no them, there is only us, and that the security of each depends on the wellbeing of all. This message, at once simple and profound, has never been more important, and not just at Cornell.
6.
I Am Going to Be Small by Jeffrey Brown
SC I ENCE
Cornell Course Unites Global Soil Health
By LAINE HAVENS Sun Staff Writer
The Cornell Soil Health Program — consisting of experts focusing on research, outreach and education — hosted an international certificate course on soil health starting Oct. 3 and ending Nov. 14, aiming to educate participants on soil health principles, metrics, and management.
The virtual course was open to any interested students, practitioners or educators with relevant background in agriculture and soil science from across the globe. Registration fees varied depending on course level and the discounts were provided for New York State residents and participants from developing countries.
The Advanced Soil Health course provided participants with knowledge on leading soil science, assessment and management. Soil health refers to the integration of physical, chemical and biological properties of soils to perform functions that sustain plant, animal and human life. Scholars find that studying soil health is valuable because of its many connections to human life.
In addition to being an important source of supplying nutrients, robust soil is necessary for storing carbon from the atmosphere through carbon sequestration. Soils are directly and indirectly responsible for 95 percent of the world’s food pro-
duction, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.
A shortage of nutrients in soils can limit crop yield, making soil health important for sustaining a steadily growing global population.
The program is taught by faculty lead of the Cornell Soil Health Program Prof. Harold van Es, integrative plant science soil and crop scienc- es, and Extension Associates Debbie Aller and Joseph Amsili.
“We all rely on [soils] and they are often neglected and really taken for granted, so it’s a way to
educate more people,” Aller said. “They’re critical to a sustainable and healthy food system or agricultural system. We rely on them everyday for medicine, for clean water, for more nutritious food — pretty much everything.”
The course, consisting of virtual live-lectures and asynchronous work, offered two tracks this year: a basic course consisting of three modules and a more advanced course with four additional modules. The modules spanned a wide range of topics, from soil chemistry and biology to soil assessment — the pro-
cess of measuring indicators that correspond to specific aspects of soil health, which can then be addressed through different management techniques.
For example, Wet Aggregate Stability is an indicator that measures the ability of a soil sample to remain intact when rained on. Poorer aggregation reduces the capability of a soil to store water, exchange air and germinate seeds.
For farmers, this means increased plant stress, erosion and flooding, which make fields harder to manage. Many different management strategies can address
Wet Aggregate Stability, such as reduced tilling and the rotation of crops with sod crops and fungi hosts for increased biodiversity.
The 2023 Advanced Soil Health Course is one component of the outreach and extension efforts affiliated with the Cornell Soil Health Program which aims to provide resources on soil health. A similar course was offered in 2021, and it will likely be offered again, according to Amsili.
“We [were] really excited by the registration turnout [for the Advanced Soil Health Course] this year,” Amsili said. “There’s a lot of demand for soil health education and a lot of activity and excitement around this field.” According to Amsili, participants have ranged from traditional agricultural professionals, and farmers to federal and state employees.
Although the course also discusses alternative methods of soil assessment, a key foundation of the course is the Cornell Framework for Comprehensive Assessment of Soil Health, of which van Es was the lead developer for.
“Cornell University and the program here is a world leader in topics related to soil health,” Aller said. “So it’s just a really great opportunity for people from all over the world to be able to connect and have a really solid foundation on soil health.”
Laine Havens can be reached at lhavens@cornellsun.com.
Researchers Determine Key Interactions Associated with Alzheimer’s and Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy
By KAITLYN LEE Sun Staff Writer
Weill Cornell Medicine researchers gave new insights on the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and a cerebrovascular disorder known as cerebral amyloid angiopathy, identifying the mechanisms of the protein amyloid beta in an Oct. 3 study.
Although the extensive role of amyloid beta in brain function is currently unknown, it is typically produced in normal neural activity and removed by blood vessels in the brain.
However, in patients with Alzheimer’s and CAA — the accumulation of amyloid beta in cerebral blood vessels — amyloid beta is known to build up in the brain, which can lead to neurovascular damage, cognitive impairment and inflammation and hemorrhage in the brain.
According to senior author and Director of the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute Prof. Costantino Iadecola, neurology, amyloid beta accumulation is due to neurovascular dysfunction, meaning blood vessels in the brain are no longer able to maintain blood flow and dispose of amyloid beta.
Iadecola and his team further discovered that loss of neurovascular function is due to interactions between amyloid beta and immune cells known as border-associated macrophages. Amyloid beta binds to receptors called CD63 in BAM that paralyze blood vessels, restricting blood flow and preventing amyloid beta removal from the
brain.
These macrophages are proposed to typically arise in the brain very early in development — during embryogenesis or the first eight weeks of development after fertilization — and remain there. Thus, the effects of amyloid beta binding to these cells cause blood vessel paralysis that can be long-lasting, according to Iadecola.
However, co-author Prof. Laibaik Park, neuroscience, shared that bone marrow transplants that replace normal BAM in preclinical models with Alzheimer’s and CAA with BAM without CD63 receptors, resulting in better blood circulation in the brain and cognitive function in the models.
“If you replace border-associated macrophages with ones lacking CD36 receptors, amyloid beta would not be able to induce production of reactive oxidative species,” Park said. “This prevents universal dysfunction and is also associated with protection of neurovascular function and prevention of cognitive impairment.”
These findings have applications for medicine, as CD36 could become a potential target to remove for treatment of Alzheimer’s and other diseases associated with amyloid beta accumulation. According to Iadecola, because BAM are typically located near blood vessels of the brain, drug administration may be relative-
ly accessible.
“There are a diversity of approaches that could be used to selectively target border-associated macrophages,” Iadecola said. “The good thing about these cells is that they are near the blood vessels, so the drug doesn’t have to go very far. At the moment, there is no way to target them specifically, so it will be the next research topic to explore.”
Targeting CD36 in BAM may provide a solution for amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, which are reactions to antibody treatments used to treat mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. Patients experiencing ARIA present with brain edema, swelling that occurs due to an accumulation of excess fluid in the brain tissues, and hemorrhage. However, reducing these symptoms may allow them to continue their treatment.
The team has several next steps in regards to their recent research. According to Park, bone marrow transplantation utilized to create BAM lacking CD36 requires exposure of radiation to the brain and produces side effects in mouse models. Thus, the team is working on deleting the BAM CD36 gene in mouse lines to further determine its role in cerebral amyloid angiopathy.
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Kaitlyn Lee can be reached at klee@cornellsun.com.
Soil scholars | A new Cornell course focused on soil health was taught during the Fall 2023 semester to participants interested in learning about soil science, assessment and management.
VINCENT TULLO / THE NEW YORK TIMES
COURTESY OF LAIBAIK PARK
Paramount protein | Researchers have determined the mechanisms of the protein crucial to understanding the development neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s.