Matt Shipman

Mar 30, 2012

Ticks and Mosquitoes: What the Mild Winter Really Means

There has been a lot of discussion about how a mild winter, an early spring and a bumper crop of acorns might affect the number of mosquitoes and ticks we’ll see this spring and summer. Will there be more blood suckers out there? Will we be at higher risk of Lyme disease? Like many things… 

Mar 30, 2012

Bees ‘Self-Medicate’ When Infected With Some Pathogens

Research from North Carolina State University shows that honey bees “self-medicate” when their colony is infected with a harmful fungus, bringing in increased amounts of antifungal plant resins to ward off the pathogen. 

Mar 28, 2012

Know Your Enemy: Fire Ants

No series on arthropod pests would be complete without fire ants. They are violent. They are deadly. And they’re seemingly out to conquer the world. I’m exaggerating on that last point, but not by much. There are over 20 fire ant species around the world, including at least four species that are native to the… 

Mar 28, 2012

Study Finds Circle Hooks Lower Catch Rate For Offshore Anglers

Anglers are required to use circle hooks in some fishing tournaments because they are less likely to cause lethal injuries in billfish, such as marlin. However, research from North Carolina State University shows that broadening circle hook requirements could adversely impact charter and recreational fishing, since they make it more difficult to catch non-billfish. 

Mar 26, 2012

March Madness: Why Rooting For Losers May Save Your Life

Editor’s note: Last year we told you about this study (then forthcoming). We’re posting a modestly revised version of that write-up for two reasons. First, it’s a timely read as we head into the Final Four weekend. Second, the paper is now available. We’ve linked to it below. Enjoy! If you’re a sports fan, you… 

Mar 23, 2012

Know Your Enemy: Japanese Beetles

Last year I wrote a series of posts about critters we love to hate: mosquitoes, ticks, horseflies, black widows and carpenter bees. With the arrival of spring, I decided to pick up where I left off. First up: Japanese beetles or, as rose-growers call them, #@!*ing Japanese beetles. As the name suggests, Japanese beetles –… 

Mar 20, 2012

Social science

The N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences' Nature Research Center will bring science, and NC State expertise, to the public in some exciting new ways. 

Mar 20, 2012

NSA Science of Security ‘Lablet’ Established at NC State

North Carolina State University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Carnegie Mellon University are each receiving an initial $2.5 million in grant funds from the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) to stimulate the creation of a more scientific basis for the design and analysis of trusted systems. 

Mar 19, 2012

Study: Including Ads in Mobile Apps Poses Privacy, Security Risks

Researchers from North Carolina State University have found that including ads in mobile applications (apps) poses privacy and security risks. In a recent study of 100,000 apps in the official Google Play market, researchers noticed that more than half contained so-called ad libraries. And 297 of the apps included aggressive ad libraries that were enabled… 

Mar 12, 2012

Local and Mobile

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Adriana de Souza e Silva, associate professor of communication in NC State’s Department of Communication, who is chairing an international conference, Local and Mobile, for researchers and students of mobility studies. We no longer enter the Internet. Instead, we carry it with us. We experience it as we… 

Mar 8, 2012

Getting Organized To Fight Wildfires

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Lauren Williams, a communication intern in NC State’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Think fighting wildfires is just a job for forest rangers armed with water? Think again. Research in communication practices is improving the ways in which wildfires are handled. On the front lines of this… 

Mar 7, 2012

Functional Oxide Thin Films Create New Field Of Oxide Electronics

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed the first functional oxide thin films that can be used efficiently in electronics, opening the door to an array of new high-power devices and smart sensors. This is the first time that researchers have been able to produce positively charged (p-type) conduction and negatively charged (n-type) conduction… 

Mar 6, 2012

Dealing With Trauma And Its Aftermath

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Karen Bullock, associate department head in NC State’s Department of Social Work, which is hosting a symposium on trauma for social workers and those in related fields. At a time when many families are adjusting to soldiers returning from combat, significant job layoffs, foreclosures on home mortgages, high… 

Mar 6, 2012

New Method For Estimating Parameters May Boost Biological Models

Modeling biological systems can provide key insights for scientists and medical researchers, but periodic cycles that repeat themselves – so-called oscillatory systems – pose some key challenges. Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new method for estimating the parameters used in such models – which may advance modeling in research areas ranging… 

Mar 1, 2012

Food History Q&A, with Mark Kurlansky

Editor’s Note: Mark Kurlansky is the best-selling author of “Cod,” “Salt,” “The Big Oyster” and other books focused on the story (and history) of food. He is the winner of the James Beard Award for food writing and the Bon Appetit Food Writer of the Year, among other awards. Kurlansky is the keynote speaker at…