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College of Life Sciences

Plant & Wildlife Sciences

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PWS Honored Graduate: Alexandra Olson and The Humbling Power of Nature

By Aubrey Johnson
April 19, 2024
After years of passionate study, Alexandra Olson was awestruck by the fjords and volcanoes she saw abroad. Her love for the planet intensified, and she rededicated herself to conservation.
4 Min Read
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Breaking Down Genetics to Build Humanity: Kate Jaggi

By Aubrey Johnson
April 18, 2024
Kate Jaggi made a discovery she never imagined and it ignited a fire in her to continue conducting plant genetics research.
4 Min Read
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BYU Range Management Team Thrives at Utah Society for Range Management Meeting

By Grace Christensen
December 05, 2023
The College of Life Sciences Range Management Team took first place in the Undergraduate Range Management Exam (URME) and the plant identification competition at the Utah Society for Range Management (USRM) meeting.
1 Min Read
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Impact Magazine

Transforming Crime Investigation

By Erin Saito
July 26, 2023
BYU's women-led research team innovates a kit to distinguish menstrual from circulatory blood in crimes against women, in the hopes of helping domestic violence survivors seek justice.
5 Min Read
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Impact Magazine

Cougar Quinoa: The Sustainable Superhero

By Grace Christensen
July 26, 2023
BYU researchers Rick Jellen and Jeff Maughan and Washington State University's Cedric Habiyaremye are breeding new varieties of the protein-rich quinoa that can thrive in the harsh weather conditions of Rwanda’s tropical climate.
3 Min Read
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Impact Magazine

Pollution, Preservation, and Planting Seeds of Everlasting Impact

By Jenny Carpenter
May 18, 2023
Through her diligent science communications, Isabella Errigo's research on the negative health effects of Utah's pollution is now a building block for environmental legislation, non-profit missions, and university curriculums. "I expected her to come back with some ideas on how to move forward. She, in the meantime, called forty or fifty members of Congress," says Ben Abbott, BYU professor.
4 Min Read
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Going Great Lengths to Save the Salt Lake

By Aubrey Johnson
March 31, 2023
What started as a student research project on the Great Salt Lake turned into a report making national headlines. Karoline Busche worked with thirty-one coauthors to help Utahns know how to protect the Great Salt Lake from disappearing.
2 Min Read
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Impact Magazine

Making Waves with Water Security Research

By Allie Richael
July 28, 2022
Four-year-old Sara Sayedi sits on her mother’s bedroom floor in Iran, flipping through images of colorful monkeys and frigid arctic landscapes. The world comes alive to her through the villages pictured in National Geographic magazines and the detailed maps in atlases. Her mother helps her sound out unfamiliar words like Antarctica. Decades later, Sayedi’s fascination with the natural world continues to grow as she engages in environmental conservation work through research that impacts policymaking.
4 Min Read
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Impact Magazine

Learning From the Land on Lytle Ranch

By Allie Richael
July 28, 2022
Dallin Leota, the new owner of the Lytle Preserve, opens the land to BYU students, visitors, and Paiute tribe leaders to provide hands-on experiences with history, preservation, and land restoration.
6 Min Read
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BYU wins fourth consecutive championship at National Collegiate Landscape Competition

By Allie Richael
March 28, 2022
BYU Plant & Landscape Systems students won big at the 2022 National Collegiate Landscape Competition. After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a team of 37 students competed in a variety of landscape-related events at North Carolina State University.
2 Min Read
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Impact Magazine

Propagating Innovation and Inspired Research

Hannah LeSueur
By Hannah LeSueur
January 20, 2022
After undergoing several dynamic changes over the last year, the College of Life Sciences Greenhouse—a hidden gem—is primed to enable students and faculty to innovate sustainable practices and impact global nutrition. The new greenhouse director, Dr. Matt Arrington, has worked hard to make the greenhouse the ideal setting for hands-on learning and inspired research. His vision is to provide “enough open space where students can have [an] innovative flow of ideas and create their own projects.” Students are encouraged to brainstorm ideas and then use greenhouse resources to carry them out.
5 Min Read
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Impact Magazine

From Insect Sampling to COVID Testing

By Kelly Jean
January 13, 2021
In Dr. Paul Frandsen’s lab, BYU College of Life Sciences student Andrew Sheffield filtered countless jars of environmental DNA. He had no idea that his hours of work and eye for detail would provide him with the skills to contribute to his community and make a difference during a world-wide pandemic.
2 Min Read
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Mentored research prepares student to help with COVID-19 testing

By Kelly Jean
July 27, 2020
Working in Dr. Paul Frandsen's lab allowed College of Life Sciences student Andrew Sheffield to develop the cross-disciplinary skills needed to contribute during a world-wide pandemic.
4 Min Read
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Plant and Wildlife Science Graduate Research Conclave

Plant and Wildlife Science graduate students present their research to faculty, peers, and the community.
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Eagle-eyed BYU interns study Dugway's desert wildlife

This summer, BYU wildlife management students worked alongside US Army and HawkWatch International colleagues to help study and track eagle chicks, tag kestrel nestlings, and monitor other wildlife at Utah's Dugway Proving Ground.
3:25
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