Dec 23, 2025 Mother Jones

Climate Change Is Coming for Christmas

“When we grow Christmas trees, we typically are taking them out of their natural habitat, particularly with Fraser fir,” Justin Whitehill, a forestry researcher at North Carolina State University who studies Christmas trees, told me a year ago. 

Dec 23, 2025 WFDD

North Carolina Christmas tree crop thrives despite Helene impacts

The state annually harvests 2-3 million Christmas trees from farms spread over 33,000 acres — many of them in the High Country. Will Kohlway, an extension specialist in Christmas tree production at NC State University, says it’s been a good year for growers. 

Dec 23, 2025 Seed World

Crop pests can develop ‘fighter-jet wings’ after eating a specific mix of corn

The research team at North Carolina State University compared moths raised on four different diets: blended Bt and non-Bt corn, non-Bt corn alone, Bt corn with two toxins and Bt corn with three toxins. Most corn and cotton grown in the United States contains Bt traits designed to kill insect pests. 

Dec 23, 2025 Fortune

Why coyotes won’t become the new wolves and what it has to do with moose and beaver

Alex Jensen is a Postdoctoral Associate in Wildlife Ecology at North Carolina State University. 

Dec 22, 2025 New York Post

Here’s how Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill could impact your tax refunds in April

“These changes to the standard deduction, SALT cap and tax exemptions on tips, overtime and senior bonus mean most people will be paying less in taxes or getting a bigger refund in April,” Nathan Goldman, tax expert and professor at North Carolina State University, told The Post. 

Dec 22, 2025 San Francisco Chronicle

The Bay Area is losing the data center race. Economists say that could be a good thing

Meanwhile, a June study at Carnegie Mellon University and North Carolina State University warned that more data centers, along with growth in cryptocurrency, could cause U.S. electricity prices to spike 8% by 2030. 

Dec 22, 2025 Washington Post

Is Gen Z the key to a manufacturing revival? Fall River thinks so.

Goncalves estimates that Matouk has saved 20,000 liters of water this year using the machine, the result of a years-long collaboration with Twine Solutions, Matouk and Wilson College of Textiles at North Carolina State University, partially funded by a state-level grant. 

Dec 22, 2025 Smithsonian

Flesh-Eating Screwworms Are Creeping Closer to a Comeback in the United States

“Once an infestation starts, that often attracts more flies that lay more eggs,” Max Scott, an entomologist at North Carolina State University, told NPR’s Rachel Treisman in August. “And depending where the wound is, the maggots can make their way into vulnerable tissue like the brain, or the wound can get quite big and then… 

Dec 22, 2025 New York Times

A Somber Mood at Science Meeting as Trump Budget Cuts Continue

“You could feel the energy in the room, and it was very sad,” said Mohammed Shehzaib Ali, a graduate student at North Carolina State University who uses NCAR’s supercomputer to run programs to understand how weather patterns affect air pollution from wildfires. “Atmospheric science is built on collaboration, and NCAR is the pathway through which… 

Dec 19, 2025 The Wilson Times

You Decide: Should you be smiling or frowning at 2026?

Perhaps the best economic news for households in early 2025 was that many saw their work earnings rise faster than inflation. This means they were able to claw back some of their standard of living lost when inflation was at double-digit rates in earlier years. – Author: Mike Walden, a William Neal Reynolds distinguished professor… 

Dec 19, 2025 MSN

Google, Oracle, Amazon, Meta in hot AI race. But a data center backlash is surging.

A recent study from Carnegie Mellon and North Carolina State universities found that demand from data centers and crypto mining could increase electricity bills by 8% nationally and as much as 25% in certain regions by 2030. 

Dec 19, 2025 The Manhattan Mercury

Study Finds Cancer-Linked Chemicals in Some Firefighter Gear

“Fire departments must consider both the financial and personal safety costs of keeping or replacing gear,” said study co-author R. Bryan Ormond, an associate professor at N.C. State University’s Wilson College of Textiles in Raleigh, N.C. 

Dec 19, 2025 The Emporia Gazette

Study Finds Cancer-Linked Chemicals in Some Firefighter Gear

“Fire departments must consider both the financial and personal safety costs of keeping or replacing gear,” said study co-author R. Bryan Ormond, an associate professor at N.C. State University’s Wilson College of Textiles in Raleigh, N.C. 

Dec 18, 2025 Life Technology

Neutrophils’ Role in Atopic Dermatitis Flares 

Given the similarities in immune responses between dogs and humans, the identification of neutrophils as key instigators of atopic dermatitis flares in canines holds promise for advancing our understanding of the disease in humans. This cross-species relevance underscores the translational potential of the research conducted at North Carolina State University. 

Dec 18, 2025 Phys.org

Sourdough starters: How flour choice shapes microbial communities

For a study published recently in Microbiology Spectrum, Heil and her collaborators at North Carolina State University, in Raleigh, analyzed sourdough starters to understand how the type of flour shaped the microbial community.