Steve Koppes
@mrmeteor.bsky.social
Science writer. Author of Killer Rocks from Outer Space.
“Notably, there is a positive correlation between awareness of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which provides advice on what to drink and eat to ensure nutrient needs are met, and the perceived health of one’s diet.” — Joseph Balagtas, Purdue University
bit.ly/4twz392
bit.ly/4twz392
U.S. consumers report diet satisfaction patterns in latest Consumer Food Insights survey
The January Consumer Food Insights Report (CFI) sought to determine whether those classified as overweight — using the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s measurement of a body mass inde...
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February 11, 2026 at 5:55 PM
“Notably, there is a positive correlation between awareness of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which provides advice on what to drink and eat to ensure nutrient needs are met, and the perceived health of one’s diet.” — Joseph Balagtas, Purdue University
bit.ly/4twz392
bit.ly/4twz392
Forty-eight students have graduated from the GIS certificate program at Purdue since its launch in fall 2021. Another 76 students had been admitted to the GIS Certificate Program as of Dec. 29, 2025.
bit.ly/4c5QM0K
bit.ly/4c5QM0K
Digital foresters embrace GIS mapping and analysis
Purdue University has grown a thriving forest of more than 2,000 geographic information systems (GIS) users across campus. The largest numbers come from the colleges of Agriculture, Engineering, Liber...
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February 3, 2026 at 5:50 PM
Forty-eight students have graduated from the GIS certificate program at Purdue since its launch in fall 2021. Another 76 students had been admitted to the GIS Certificate Program as of Dec. 29, 2025.
bit.ly/4c5QM0K
bit.ly/4c5QM0K
“Triple-negative breast cancer is a particularly deadly form of breast cancer that currently lacks targeted therapies.” — Kyle Cottrell, assistant profesor of biochemistry, Purdue University
bit.ly/4t66z66
bit.ly/4t66z66
Purdue team announces new therapeutic target for breast cancer
A Purdue University team led by Kyle Cottrell has discovered a new therapeutic target for triple-negative breast cancer. “Triple-negative breast cancer is a particularly deadly form of breast cancer ...
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January 26, 2026 at 7:27 PM
“Triple-negative breast cancer is a particularly deadly form of breast cancer that currently lacks targeted therapies.” — Kyle Cottrell, assistant profesor of biochemistry, Purdue University
bit.ly/4t66z66
bit.ly/4t66z66
“The majority of respondents, 82%, modified their shopping behaviors. The most common adjustments were seeking sales and discounts, switching to cheaper brands, and reducing nonessential purchases.” Joseph Balagtas, Purdue Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability.
bit.ly/49AGDry
bit.ly/49AGDry
Consumer Food Insights survey assesses 2025 grocery spending
Consumers made substantial changes to their grocery shopping in 2025, largely driven by economic pressures, according to the December Consumer Food Insights Report (CFI).
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January 21, 2026 at 6:35 PM
“The majority of respondents, 82%, modified their shopping behaviors. The most common adjustments were seeking sales and discounts, switching to cheaper brands, and reducing nonessential purchases.” Joseph Balagtas, Purdue Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability.
bit.ly/49AGDry
bit.ly/49AGDry
Highly pathogenic avian flu: “We’ve weathered the first storm, but we’re not out of this yet.” — Darrin Karcher, Purdue Extension, Purdue Agriculture
bit.ly/4qxQB2R
bit.ly/4qxQB2R
Emergency preparedness and response to Highly Pathogenic Avian Flu
After Indiana’s outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in January 2025, Adams County Purdue Extension educator Brad Kohlhagen began receiving almost daily telephone calls, especially fro...
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January 20, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Highly pathogenic avian flu: “We’ve weathered the first storm, but we’re not out of this yet.” — Darrin Karcher, Purdue Extension, Purdue Agriculture
bit.ly/4qxQB2R
bit.ly/4qxQB2R
AI methods work well with artificial objects that contain symmetries. “But what was missing — this is where we are filling the gap — are AI methods that figure out these features for stochastic structures.” — Bedrich Benes, Purdue Computer Science, Purdue Agriculture
bit.ly/4baER1u
bit.ly/4baER1u
AI helps find trees in a forest: Researchers achieve 3D forest reconstruction from remote sensing data
Existing algorithms can partially reconstruct the shape of a single tree from a clean point-cloud dataset acquired by laser-scanning technologies. Doing the same with forest data has proven far more d...
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January 20, 2026 at 6:04 PM
AI methods work well with artificial objects that contain symmetries. “But what was missing — this is where we are filling the gap — are AI methods that figure out these features for stochastic structures.” — Bedrich Benes, Purdue Computer Science, Purdue Agriculture
bit.ly/4baER1u
bit.ly/4baER1u
“Continuous manufacturing is the future. It is environmentally friendly, and it saves money and resources, as well.” — Shreya Athalye, Purdue Agricultural & Biological Engineering
bit.ly/4oCou0T
bit.ly/4oCou0T
Light-based tool continuously monitors vaccine quality during production
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the need to rapidly develop, produce and distribute large quantities of new vaccines. A team of researchers at Purdue University and Merck & Co. Inc....
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October 28, 2025 at 5:11 PM
“Continuous manufacturing is the future. It is environmentally friendly, and it saves money and resources, as well.” — Shreya Athalye, Purdue Agricultural & Biological Engineering
bit.ly/4oCou0T
bit.ly/4oCou0T
At first, I thought this was old news. But nope. They discovered another one.
bit.ly/4npizeS
bit.ly/4npizeS
Astronomers discover previously unknown quasi-moon near Earth | CNN
A recently observed object called 2025 PN7 was found orbiting near the Earth. The quasi-moon is expected to accompany our planet in a similar orbit for 60 years.
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October 25, 2025 at 5:36 PM
At first, I thought this was old news. But nope. They discovered another one.
bit.ly/4npizeS
bit.ly/4npizeS
“How do drought, pathogen stress and other environmental factors affect the way that plants might give off cues that they’re exposed to a certain chemical?” — Joshua Widhalm, Purdue Horticulture, @darpa.mil
bit.ly/494WRJp
bit.ly/494WRJp
Purdue-DARPA project explores plants as sentinels for chemical activity
Purdue University’s College of Agriculture has joined an effort to mobilize plants as chemical intelligence gatherers. Collaborating with STR, an information science company, the Purdue team will te...
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October 14, 2025 at 6:01 PM
“How do drought, pathogen stress and other environmental factors affect the way that plants might give off cues that they’re exposed to a certain chemical?” — Joshua Widhalm, Purdue Horticulture, @darpa.mil
bit.ly/494WRJp
bit.ly/494WRJp
“When it comes to affordability, food retailers are most often seen as the main drivers of food prices, followed by food manufacturers.” — Purdue Ag Economist Lourival Monaco
bit.ly/4q0SAN3
bit.ly/4q0SAN3
How household composition influences food behaviors and spending
New data sheds light on consumer perceptions of farms and firms in the food supply chain and provides an update on the sustainability of American diets, according to the September Consumer Food Insigh...
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October 8, 2025 at 4:42 PM
“When it comes to affordability, food retailers are most often seen as the main drivers of food prices, followed by food manufacturers.” — Purdue Ag Economist Lourival Monaco
bit.ly/4q0SAN3
bit.ly/4q0SAN3
I've been fascinated by rogue stars and planets ever since I watched "When Worlds Collide" (1951).
bit.ly/48PoqpZ
bit.ly/48PoqpZ
Rogue planet caught behaving like a star in unprecedented observation | CNN
Astronomers have observed a massive growth rate in a free-floating rogue planet that’s gobbling up gas and dust at a record rate of 6.6 billion tons per second.
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October 4, 2025 at 6:04 PM
I've been fascinated by rogue stars and planets ever since I watched "When Worlds Collide" (1951).
bit.ly/48PoqpZ
bit.ly/48PoqpZ
“This workshop not only advanced scientific understanding but also positioned forests — and AI innovation — as essential pillars in the global response to climate change.” — Jingjing Liang, Purdue University, @[email protected]
bit.ly/3IGaC6D
bit.ly/3IGaC6D
Mobilizing AI to monitor forest growth and carbon sequestration
More than 1.6 million square miles of forests have disappeared since 1990, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. That area exceeds the expanse of the seven largest ...
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September 29, 2025 at 6:11 PM
“This workshop not only advanced scientific understanding but also positioned forests — and AI innovation — as essential pillars in the global response to climate change.” — Jingjing Liang, Purdue University, @[email protected]
bit.ly/3IGaC6D
bit.ly/3IGaC6D
Another interstellar visitor. Fascinating.
bit.ly/4mz86gh
bit.ly/4mz86gh
Astronomical alert: NASA confirms mysterious object is ‘interstellar’ visitor
This object is only the third of its kind to have been spotted.
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September 27, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Another interstellar visitor. Fascinating.
bit.ly/4mz86gh
bit.ly/4mz86gh
The late, great Carlton Moore tipped me off to the alleged discovery of microfossils in a Martian meteorite by a team that included an Arizona State University alumnus weeks before the story became big news. The brief encounter left me in stunned, immobile silence.
bit.ly/4n9MA2J
bit.ly/4n9MA2J
The Space Review: The greatest story on planet Mars: the sequel
bit.ly
September 20, 2025 at 6:04 PM
The late, great Carlton Moore tipped me off to the alleged discovery of microfossils in a Martian meteorite by a team that included an Arizona State University alumnus weeks before the story became big news. The brief encounter left me in stunned, immobile silence.
bit.ly/4n9MA2J
bit.ly/4n9MA2J
Combining paleoanthropology with asteroid mapping. Love this!
September 18, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Combining paleoanthropology with asteroid mapping. Love this!
As Mr. Spock might say, "Fascinating."
bit.ly/47NCbFb
bit.ly/47NCbFb
Astronomers discover previously unknown quasi-moon near Earth | CNN
A recently observed object called 2025 PN7 was found orbiting near the Earth. The quasi-moon is expected to accompany our planet in a similar orbit for 60 years.
bit.ly
September 17, 2025 at 5:28 PM
As Mr. Spock might say, "Fascinating."
bit.ly/47NCbFb
bit.ly/47NCbFb
I set a new personal record for the 5K this a.m.! My slowest time ever! 46:54, by more than 3 minutes. I used to run 10Ks a lot faster than that. It was a hilly course, but still.
August 31, 2025 at 6:43 PM
I set a new personal record for the 5K this a.m.! My slowest time ever! 46:54, by more than 3 minutes. I used to run 10Ks a lot faster than that. It was a hilly course, but still.
New results from NASA’s OSIRISRex asteroid sample return mission by Purdue University scientist & her colleagues.
bit.ly/3Jy5MIF
bit.ly/3Jy5MIF
Planetary scientist decodes clues in Bennu’s surface composition to make sense of far-flung asteroids
Space weathering expert Michelle Thompson OSIRIS-REx reveals why some gray asteroids reflect light at different wavelengths, like red or blue, more strongly. These results help shed light onto the evo...
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August 27, 2025 at 5:23 PM
New results from NASA’s OSIRISRex asteroid sample return mission by Purdue University scientist & her colleagues.
bit.ly/3Jy5MIF
bit.ly/3Jy5MIF
Nearly identical alignment of current and future sentiment “likely signals cautious expectations for a slow-paced recovery rather than renewed confidence.” — Lourival Monaco, Ag Economist, Purdue Agriculture
bit.ly/3JstXbp
bit.ly/3JstXbp
Agrifood Economy Index rebounds but remains below baseline
The June Agrifood Economy Index (AEI) reflects a strong rebound from March’s lows in overall industry sentiment and includes a deep dive into how agrifood leaders view the emerging “food as health” tr...
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August 21, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Nearly identical alignment of current and future sentiment “likely signals cautious expectations for a slow-paced recovery rather than renewed confidence.” — Lourival Monaco, Ag Economist, Purdue Agriculture
bit.ly/3JstXbp
bit.ly/3JstXbp
“Fungal infections kill almost 4 million people a year around the world. More people now die from fungal infections than from malaria and tuberculosis combined.” — Mark Hall, Purdue Biochemistry
bit.ly/3V0Nd2d
bit.ly/3V0Nd2d
Joint agriculture-pharmacy project seeks to develop novel antifungal treatment
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, viral and bacterial infections tend to draw headlines. However, fungal pathogens are a rising problem that the colleges of Agriculture and Pharmacy at Purdue Univ...
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August 14, 2025 at 10:48 PM
“Fungal infections kill almost 4 million people a year around the world. More people now die from fungal infections than from malaria and tuberculosis combined.” — Mark Hall, Purdue Biochemistry
bit.ly/3V0Nd2d
bit.ly/3V0Nd2d
“Our research shows that consumers prioritize taste and price when shopping for food, with nutrition coming in a distant third.” — Purdue Ag Economist Joseph Balagtas.
bit.ly/4mbN73H
bit.ly/4mbN73H
How Americans make healthy food choices in grocery stores
Many consumers who rate their diet poorly acknowledge the need for change. However, only 1 in 4 consumers who say their diet needs improvement have made a health-related dietary change in the past mon...
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August 13, 2025 at 5:03 PM
“Our research shows that consumers prioritize taste and price when shopping for food, with nutrition coming in a distant third.” — Purdue Ag Economist Joseph Balagtas.
bit.ly/4mbN73H
bit.ly/4mbN73H
RIP, Commander Lovell. What a life you led!
August 8, 2025 at 8:18 PM
RIP, Commander Lovell. What a life you led!
Purdue economists find that Americans do not have a great grasp of the extent of the food insecurity problem in the country, but they do have a basic understanding of its root causes.
bit.ly/4lgRRof
bit.ly/4lgRRof
Public understanding of food insecurity widely varies
The public’s familiarity with the term “food insecurity” and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is mixed, with approximately 40% of Americans reporting they are only “slightly famili...
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July 11, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Purdue economists find that Americans do not have a great grasp of the extent of the food insecurity problem in the country, but they do have a basic understanding of its root causes.
bit.ly/4lgRRof
bit.ly/4lgRRof
Late posting of my Memorial Day visit to the Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport, Wash. It's a nice museum, but I went there to see the Trieste, the first submersible to visit the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean, seven miles down, in 1960.
June 29, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Late posting of my Memorial Day visit to the Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport, Wash. It's a nice museum, but I went there to see the Trieste, the first submersible to visit the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean, seven miles down, in 1960.
A cultural anthropologist's interesting perspective on last week's all female suborbital space flight.
bit.ly/42LPfqj
bit.ly/42LPfqj
The Space Review: “A bonafide frigging flight”: How NS-31 broke spaceflight norms and created an online uproar
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April 25, 2025 at 4:56 PM
A cultural anthropologist's interesting perspective on last week's all female suborbital space flight.
bit.ly/42LPfqj
bit.ly/42LPfqj