The New Hampshire state government is taking steps to curtail algae blooms in New Hampshire, fearing that they could pose a health hazard, The Nashua Telegraph reported. A study conducted at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center suggested that increased algae blooms at Lake Mascoma in Grafton, N.H. might be linked to increased rates of Lou Gehrig's disease in the surrounding area. When cyanobacteria, the type of blue-green algae prolific in New Hampshire, bloom, they releases toxins into the air. The toxins irritate the eyes and skin and can cause liver, kidney and nerve damage over the long term, according to The Telegraph. One of the toxins has been linked to increased levels of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, in addition to Lou Gehrig's disease. The government of New Hampshire has shut down access to 32 ponds and lakes across the state in an effort to prevent algae blooms, The Telegraph reported.
A former director of the Hood Museum has been appointed as the new director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, according to The New York Times. Timothy Rub, who served as director of the Hood from 1991 to 1999, will take office in September. As museum director, Rub will oversee the Philadelphia Museum of Art's 200 galleries, as well as a 10-year, $500-million expansion and renovation, The Times reported. Rub previously directed the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Cleveland Museum in addition to the Hood. Rub will be succeeding Anne d'Harnoncourt at the Philadelphia Museum, who died suddenly last year.
Ivy League endowments are suffering more than the endowments of institutions that used less sophisticated investment models, according to The Wall Street Journal. Institutions with endowments of less than $1 billion tended to put more money in fixed income investments instead of real estate, hedge funds or private equity, which made them better able to withstand the economic crisis, The Journal reported. While the five institutions with the largest endowments in the country Harvard University, Yale University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University and Princeton University expect their endowments to decline by 25 to 30 percent, foundations and endowments of less than $100 million are expected to decline by a median of 16 percent, The Journal reported. The disparity also harms Ivy League and peer institutions because they tend to rely more heavily on their endowments for day-to-day operations. Dartmouth's endowment declined by 18 percent last year.
