The Virginia Tech media relations office has the following experts available for interviews this week surrounding issues in the news. To schedule an interview, please contact mediarelations@vt.edu.

Virginia Tech experts available to discuss headlines in the news

Warning labels on social media platforms?

The Surgeon General announced Monday that he’ll be calling on Congress to pass legislation attaching the same kind of warning label to social media platforms that exist on alcohol and tobacco products. Donna Wertalik, an expert in social media privacy, is available to discuss whether such labels are realistic, as well as how effective they might be, if implemented.

Managing energy use key to weathering extreme heat

Summer heat can deliver major stress to our country’s electrical grid. As the Director of the Advanced Research Institute Saifur Rahman explains, extreme heat “places heavier demand on existing generation assets and transmission lines in areas across the country that could result in blackouts.” Avoiding power outages is crucial in times of extreme weather, and he offers tips to help reduce load and conserve energy to ensure the AC stays on. More here.

Outdoor safety tips to shield against summer health hazards

With record heat expected for some parts of the U.S. this week, Dr. Stephanie Lareau, an associate professor of emergency medicine at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, is available to discuss tips for protecting you and your family against summer health hazards, including heatstroke, dehydration, and workouts. More here.

Why we’ve had more severe weather and what’s to come

The U.S. saw more tornadoes in May than in any single month in the last five years, and the current heat wave could bring more extreme events. “That stronger than average jet stream across the southern U.S. is more common in El Niño years, so what’s called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation could be playing a role here,” says meteorologist Stephanie Zick. “Importantly, a shift in tornado activity farther east generally means that the tornadoes are moving through more populated areas,” she says. “The expanding bull's-eye is also a factor, as urban and suburban areas grow in size and the tornadoes have a greater chance of encountering populated areas.”

El Niño patterns could mean a stronger, later wildfire season

The threat of wildfires is generally impacted by the availability of dry vegetation, high temperatures, and high winds. According to wildfire expert Brian Lattimer, this year, El Niño has caused wetter conditions in areas typically more prone to more wildfires, which has also resulted in more fine fuel growth at this time of year.  “The combination of higher fine fuel growth due to early wet conditions and increased dry conditions late summer/fall can lead to very severe fires,” he says. Severity will depend on when the pattern switches over to La Niña, the timing of which remains uncertain for now.

Virginia Pollinator Week 

Pollinators play a critical role in our ecosystems. This week Virginia will celebrate the bees, butterflies, birds and bats that perform the vital work of pollination. Virginia Cooperative Extension consumer horticulture specialist and director of the Extension Master Gardener program, Ed Olsen was key in pushing for Governor Glenn Youngkin’s declaration. He’s available to discuss the importance of pollination and ways you can help. More here.

Alzheimer’s Awareness Month: Virginia Tech researchers work toward better treatments

June marks Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month, and Thursday, the summer solstice, will see a nationwide fundraising effort known as The Longest Day. Virginia Tech researchers are engaged in research meant to advance treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

  • Jo Culligan, an instructor of human development and family science, has explored the benefits of music therapy for dementia patients and their caregivers. “Where your musical memory is stored is an area that is not impacted by dementia. It can create opportunities for orientation and connection and increase communication,” Culligan says.

  • Electrical engineer Xiaoting Jia has developed a fiber little thicker than a strand of hair that can be used to probe the brain without harming it, allowing better imaging for studying brain disease. “Alzheimer’s is a devastating problem,” Jia says. “That’s why it concerns me as an electrical engineer. I want to build tools and try to assist neuroscientists in solving brain problems.”

  • Animal sciences professor Tim Jarome is working on a way to model Alzheimer’s disease using a pig’s brain, which has many more similarities to the human brain than that of a rodent. “One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease is cognitive impairments and memory loss, so we need to study the complicated tasks that pigs do,” Jarome says. “If we develop this model, researchers in every state in the U.S. could use it.”

2024 Summer Olympic Games

The Olympic Games in Paris are rapidly approaching, and there is no shortage of stories. Did you know that the gold medals are also, really, silver medals? Or whether we should all be eating as much protein as Olympic athletes? Experts can speak to all that and more as the Games approach. More here.

Research Highlights

There’s more to bleu cheese than just the stench

Virginia Tech biochemistry researchers have discovered a way to synthesize a compound found in the mold in bleu cheese that has antibacterial and anticancer properties. Marbled veins of blue line the otherwise antique white surface. As you approach, the pungent smell fills your nostrils, akin to gym socks for some. But there’s far more to bleu cheese than just the stink. The marbled veins of blue, which is edible mold, has antibacterial and anticancer properties in extremely high doses. Virginia Tech researchers found an efficient way to synthesize the compound that avoids the use of harmful chemicals.

Virginia Tech researcher helps discover underlying mechanisms behind regular exercise benefits

Virginia Tech researchers are helping to uncover why exercise is so beneficial for our health. They’ve discovered thousands of molecular changes in rats after endurance exercise. These changes shed new light on how exercise protects people against diseases like non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and inflammatory bowel disease. The findings suggest that the impacts of exercise extend to nearly every tissue and organ in the body, surpassing the benefits of any single medicine. Funded by the NIH and recently published in Nature, this groundbreaking research paves the way for further studies into different types of exercise and their specific health benefits. More here.

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