Eswar Prasad, a professor of trade policy at Cornell University, agrees with Paulson that the U.S. should work to help China establish a sound financial system instead of narrowly focusing on the exchange rate between the yuan and the dollar.

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Varshavskaya, a native of Siberia, moved to the U.S. when she was 16, attended Cornell University and started two previous companies.

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The Cornell team said the risks to monarchs could be heightened because the butterflies migrate northward through the U.S. Corn Belt from their winter homes in Mexico during the spring months, when corn pollen is thickest.

CNN: Researchers find bio-engineered corn harms butterflies