The Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech has installed a new Toshiba Aquilion 16-slice CT scanner that will provide high-resolution cross-sectional images of patients.

The new scanner is about 55 times faster than the previous one used at the college's teaching hospital.

It can more accurately assess moving organs such as the heart and lungs and allows for animals to be examined under sedation rather than general anesthesia, according to a news release from the university.

Tech fraternity raises money for hungry

The Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at Virginia Tech raised $10,401 for the Montgomery County Emergency Assistance Program through its annual Flex Out Hunger campaign.

SAE has organized the campaign every year since 2001, encouraging students to donate their remaining meal plan balances at the end of the spring semester, according to a news release from the university.

The money collected was donated to the program to buy food, diapers and baby formula for needy Montgomery County families.

Tech student studies northern snakehead

A Virginia Tech doctoral student in the College of Natural Resources has launched a Web site about the northern snakehead, a non-native fish living in the Potomac River.

Native to Asia, the fish was introduced to North America and poses a threat to the region’s ecological balance and native fish. The fish, considered a delicacy in Asia, is aggressive, voracious and can breathe air. Several fish were found in a Maryland pond in 2002 and have spread to the Potomac River.

Nicolas Lapointe, the student who launched the site, is focusing his doctoral dissertation on the predictions for new invasive species in the eastern United States. He wants the site to dispel myths, such as the snakeheads having the ability to walk on land, according to a news release from the university.

Online: www.fishwild.vt.edu/snakeheads/index.html

Tech student receives EPA fellowship

Virginia Tech doctoral student Christine Bergeron received a fellowship from the Environmental Protection Agency's National Center for Environmental Research for her work on the reproductive success of American toads.

The fellowship will support her research for the next three years with $111,000 for tuition, stipend and research expenses, according to a news release from the university.

Her research focuses on the effects of mercury on the reproductive success of adult American toads and development of their offspring from eggs through metamorphosis.

College staff produce local cookbook

The New River Community College Support Staff Assembly has collected recipes from college staff and board members to create a keepsake cookbook.

Sales from the book will go toward college events, programs and community service projects.

The books are $10. For more information contact Brad Collins at bcollins@nr.edu or call 674-3600 ext. 4248.