BOWIE, Md., Oct. 9 -- Bowie State University issued the following news release:
Deep in a Costa Rican forest, a bat eats fruit, flies off and, in under 20 minutes, poops. That quick, unglamorous process may hold a key to healthier crops, more resilient forests and a better understanding of how nature keeps itself disease-free.
Dr. Priscila Chaverri, a professor of microbiology in Bowie State's Department of Natural Sciences & Mathematics has spent more than a decade chasing that idea. This summer, backed by a new National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, she led three Bowie State researchers into the Costa Rican tropics to help test it.
Chaverri studies fungi, organisms that can help or harm a plant. Her theory: fruit-eating bats may not ...