Newsroom

Highlights of recent media coverage of NC State, as well as its faculty, staff and administrators. (Links to online stories provided where available.) Sign up to receive a daily summary of highlights via e-mail.

Mutant roaches evolve to avoid sticky traps, Brisbane Times, Australia, May 24, 2013
Roaches that have been hard to trap may be a variety that find sugar doesn’t taste quite so sweet as bait anymore, a study suggests. Coby Schal, entomology, featured.

Mutant roaches evolve to avoid sticky traps, The Age, Australia, May 24, 2013.
Roaches that have been hard to trap may be a variety that find sugar doesn’t taste quite so sweet as bait anymore, a study suggests. Coby Schal, entomology, featured.

Coffee spill alert: NCSU researchers say cockroaches are getting smarter, Triangle Business Journal, May 23, 2013. NCSU researchers say some cockroaches are able to resist sweet-tasting poison bait. But how? The magic of genetic mutation. Coby Schal, entomology, featured.

Mutant Cockroaches Have Learned to Evade Sugar Traps Time, May 24, 2013. According to a new study in Science, some roaches’ tastes are evolving to the point where they’re refusing to gobble down glucose, a form of sugar commonly found in plants. Coby Schal, entomology, featured.

Homes with dogs have more types of bacteria, Newstrack India, May 23, 2013. Researchers have claimed that households that have dogs residing in them have more types of bacteria – including those that are rarely found in the homes where dogs don’t reside. Rob Dunn, biology, featured.

Federal hurricane predictions due today, no surprise expected, The Post and Courier, Charleston, May 23, 2013.The National Hurricane Center releases its 2013 hurricane season predictions today. Don’t bother to hold your breath: It will be a busy season. Lian Xie, marine, earth and atmospheric sciences, featured.

Ctl-P for pizza, The Register, UK, May 23, 2013.
A small company in Austin, Texas, has received a $US125,000 grant from NASA to develop 3D printed food for astronauts. Food science department featured.

Bunch of hurricanes coming, government says, N&O, Charlotte Observer, May 23, 2013.
The National Hurricane Center on Thursday joined other tropical weather experts in predicting an above-average number of named storms in 2013, saying the pattern that produced a busy 2012 season remains in place. Marine, earth and atmospheric sciences, featured.

How cockroaches are evolving to avoid sweets, Christian Science Monitor, May 23, 2013.
Thanks to natural selection, some cockroaches have rapidly evolved the ability to check out of Roach Motels. Coby Schal, entomology, featured.

A Bitter/Sweet Shift in Cockroach Defenses, New York Times, May 23, 2013.
Everyone knows that cockroaches are the ultimate survivors, with enough evolutionary tricks up their carapaces to have thrived for 350 million years and to have completely adapted to the human species. Coby Schal, entomology, featured.

There Is Ample Room to Find Offsets When Disaster Strikes, U.S. News & World Report, May 23, 2013. The tragic events recently experienced in Moore, Oklahoma remind us all of the vulnerability of families and municipalities to natural disasters. Barry Goodwin, ag and resource economics, featured.

New technique to grow semiconductor thin films, Materials Today, May 23, 2013.
Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new technique for creating high-quality semiconductor thin films at the atomic scale – meaning the films are only one atom thick. Linyou Cao, materials science and engineering, featured.

How Pesticides Pushed Cockroaches Into Rapid Evolution, io9, May 23, 2013.
In the 1980s, manufactures began making cockroach baits that combined sweet glucose with deadly insecticides. By 1993, many cockroach populations somehow developed an aversion to the bait. Now, 20 years later, scientists finally understand how the roaches beat these traps. Coby Schal, entomology, featured.

Mutant Cockroaches Learn to Avoid Sugar to Outsmart Traps, Bloomberg News, May 23, 2013. Roaches that have been hard to trap may be a variety that find sugar doesn’t taste quite so sweet as bait anymore, a study suggests. Coby Schal, entomology, featured.

Method Creates Atomic-Scale Semiconductors, Photonics.com, May 23, 2013.
An inexpensive material that can be “grown” in layers only one atom thick has yielded atomic-scale semiconductor thin films. The technique could be applied to make these devices wide enough to coat wafers that are 2 in.Linyou Cao, materials science and engineering, featured.

Cockroaches quickly lose sweet tooth to survive, N&O, May 23, 2013.
For decades, people have been getting rid of cockroaches by setting out bait mixed with poison. But in the late 1980s, in an apartment test kitchen in Florida, something went very wrong. Coby Schal, entomology, featured.

Study: Cockroaches survive by losing sweet tooth, WEWS-TV and numerous other local television outlets, May 23, 2013. If you think it’s hard to outsmart a cockroach, you’re right. Scientists have discovered how some of these bugs evolved to resist sweet-tasting poison baits. In tests in an apartment kitchen, it took just five years for a genetic mutation. Coby Schal, entomology, featured.

Dog Owner Homes Are Bacteria-Ridden – And That’s Not Necessarily A Bad Thing, RedOrbit, May 23, 2013. Man’s best friend could be his immune system’s worst enemy, suggests a new report in the journal PLOS ONE. Or maybe not. Rob Dunn, biology, featured.

Dogs bring swarm of bacteria into your home, News 24, India, May 23, 2013.
Your pet dog may be bringing a whole world of bacteria into your home including certain bugs that are rarely seen in households without dogs, a new study has found. Rob Dunn, biology, featured.

Dogs bring swarm of bacteria into your home, MSN.com, May 23.
Your loyal pooch may be bringing a whole world of bacteria into your home including certain bugs that are rarely seen in households without dogs, a new study has found. Rob Dunn, biology, featured.

New Technique for Creating High-Quality Atomic-Scale Semiconductor Thin Films, Azonano, May 23, 2013. Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new technique for creating high-quality semiconductor thin films at the atomic scale – meaning the films are only one atom thick. Linyou Cao, materials science and engineering, featured.

Scientists uncover a secret to cockroaches’ adaptability, LA Times, May 23, 2013.
In the war against pests, the lowly cockroach makes for a fearsome adversary. It can go weeks without water, survive decapitation for a time — and, like any proper super-villain, can send humans screaming from a room. Coby Schal, entomology, featured.

Cockroaches outsmarting sugar traps, BBC News, May 23, 2013.
A strain of cockroaches in Europe has evolved to outsmart the sugar traps used to eradicate them. US scientists found that the mutant cockroaches had a “reorganised” sense of taste, making them perceive the glucose used to coat poisoned bait not as sweet but rather as bitter. Coby Schal, entomology, featured.

 

Your Pooch Could Raise Your Home’s Bacteria Count, Newsday – Online, May 23, 2013.
Man’s best friend may bring millions more microscopic pals into the average human home, a new study suggests. Rob Dunn, biology, featured.

Roaches evolve to avoid sweet-tasting poison bait, researchers say, Seattle Times, Associated Press, et al, May 23, 2013. For decades, people have been getting rid of cockroaches by setting out bait mixed with poison. But in the late 1980s, in an apartment test kitchen in Florida, something went wrong. Coby Schal, entomology, featured.

Open-Plan Offices Spread Germs Easier, Lower Worker Productivity, MedicalDaily.com, May 23, 2013. People working in open-plan offices take 62 percent more sick days, study finds. Open-plan offices may be bad for your health, according to new research. NC State psychology featured.

How roaches developed disgust at first bite, Science News – Online, May 23, 2013.
German cockroaches have fought back against bait traps that pair sugar with poison. Over time, the insects have developed taste cells that register sugar as disgusting. Coby Schal, entomology, featured.

Dogs bring swarm of bacteria into your home, FOXNews.com, May 23, 2013.
Your loyal pooch may be bringing a whole world of bacteria into your home but don’t panic. Rob Dunn, biology, featured.

Cockroaches evolved to avoid sweetened poison, CBS News, May 23, 2013.
For decades, people have been getting rid of cockroaches by setting out bait mixed with poison. But in the late 1980s, in an apartment test kitchen in Florida, something went very wrong. Coby Schal, entomology, featured.

Yikes! Cockroaches Evolved to Avoid Sugary Baits, Yahoo!, May 23, 2013.
In the ongoing battle between humans and cockroaches, the insects have a leg up. A new study finds that roaches evolved their taste buds to make sweet insecticide baits taste bitter. Coby Schal, entomology, featured.