Here’s the plan: Anyone interested in getting an update on plans for a new interchange at Interstate 10 and Pecue Lane is encouraged to attend an open house meeting set to take place from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 25, at the St. George Kleinpeter Activity Center, 7808 St. George Drive. The project, part of the Green Light Plan, is currently in the planning stages. Representatives of the Green Light Plan team and the East Baton Rouge Parish Department of Public Works will be on hand to take comments and answer any questions from the public. The team is also seeking input on a number of proposed design alternatives for the project.
Across an ocean: Thirteen students from Slovak University of Agriculture recently visited LSU as part of a partnership between their university and the LSU AgCenter and LSU College of Agriculture. The collaboration started last year when faculty from the AgCenter and College of Agriculture visited SUA’s campus in Nitra, Slovakia. SUA’s faculty visited LSU this past fall. “We want to establish a long-term relationship between the two universities with research, teaching, study abroad and outreach opportunities,” says David Picha, director of LSU AgCenter International Programs. LSU students are set to visit the Slovakian college in June. The AgCenter has more details on the partnership.
The bottom line: Pennington Biomedical Research Center today released the results of what it says are the two largest-ever genome-wide studies of obesity, which could lead to a better understanding of the causes of the disease and to new evidence-based treatments. Pennington officials say the results provide researchers with better clues about what kind of genetic factors contribute to obesity as well as the genetic factors that play a role in where fat is stored in the body. Published in the current edition of scientific journal Nature, the results surveyed nearly 340,000 people for the genetic markers of obesity and compiled the work of more than 400 researchers and their laboratories from around the world—making it the largest study of its kind to date. Pennington has complete details.
