Big-time discoveries
Two of Discover’s top 100 stories of the year come from Mizzou
Researcher Randy Prather made Discover
magazine's top 100 stories of the year.
Facts and stats about research funding, national rankings and other measures demonstrate the University of Missouri-Columbia’s research prominence, but sometimes those facts and stats don’t reach the popular consciousness. Discover magazine’s “Top 100 Science Stories of 2006,” however, shows that Mizzou research is popular science.
The magazine ranked not one but two discoveries involving Mizzou faculty among the most important and interesting of the year.
Randy Prather, distinguished professor of reproductive biotechnology in animal sciences, ranked No. 38 overall for his collaborative work that led to the production of pigs that can make heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. This could mean a healthier food choice for consumers in the long term. For now, it also could mean good models for studying cardiovascular health and the effects of omega-3; pigs have similar physiology to humans.
Robert Benfer (pictured above), professor emeritus of anthropology, came in at No. 54 on the list for leading an excavation team that discovered the oldest known astronomical observatory in the Americas in Peru. Benfer and his team, which included Mizzou students gaining valuable field experience, unearthed the Andean “Temple of the Fox,” a find that includes astronomical alignments and sculptures that date to 2200 B.C.
No other public or private university in the state made the list, and Nebraska was the only other Big 12 university on it. Only 15 universities had more than one discovery make the list, as Mizzou did.