Jan 21, 2025 Yahoo! News

Are the Dogs of Chernobyl Actually Mutating?

Now, a new study published nearly two years later confidently asserts that we can at least cross radiation off the list. Published in the journal PLOS One by scientists from North Carolina State University and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York, this new genetic analysis looked at the chromosomal level, the… 

Jan 21, 2025 Sciencing

There’s A Good Reason Why You Shouldn’t Kill The Spiders In Your House

In 2016, a scientific study published in PeerJ shed light on just how beneficial spiders can be in indoor environments. A team of researchers led by diagnostic entomologist Matt Bertone at North Carolina State University’s Plant Disease and Insect Clinic explored the types of arthropods (a category of which spiders are card-carrying members) found in… 

Jan 21, 2025 Futurity

Fungus is spreading to blueberries around the globe

The findings could help blueberry growers predict, monitor, and control the spread of powdery mildew. The study shows that the fungus, Erysiphe vaccinii, has in the last 12 years or so spread from its point of origin in the eastern United States to multiple continents. “We’re watching this global spread happen right now, in real… 

Jan 17, 2025 Sacramento Bee

California needs federal help after Los Angeles fires. Why is Congress so slow to act?

“Congress is not a quick institution to begin with,” said Thomas Birkland, professor of public policy at North Carolina State University. Approving spending legislation usually requires not only lengthy negotiations but a lot of time on the House and Senate floor to debate and add and subtract. 

Jan 17, 2025 Popular Mechanics

The Dogs of Chernobyl May Not Be Mutating After All, One Study Claims

Now, a new study published nearly two years later confidently asserts that we can at least cross radiation off the list. Published in the journal PLOS One by scientists from North Carolina State University and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York, this new genetic analysis looked at the chromosomal level, the… 

Jan 17, 2025 Wired

Why It’s So Confusing to Determine Air Quality in Los Angeles Right Now

Jennifer Richmond-Bryant, an associate professor of forestry and environmental resources at North Carolina State University who has studied PurpleAir sensors, says the safest bet for anyone concerned about air quality is to trust the highest number or color level among different services. “I have more faith in the AirNow numbers because I understand them,” she… 

Jan 17, 2025 Well and Good

Lead and Cadmium May Be in Your Chocolate Protein Powder: Here’s Why

But food safety and nutrition experts aren’t shocked that these metals have turned up in another range of chocolate products. “Finding lead and cadmium in chocolate is not surprising,” says Gabriel Keith Harris, PhD, professor of food science at North Carolina State University. “This has been reported since at least the late 1980s.” He also… 

Jan 16, 2025 Charlotte Observer

Coyotes are roaming around NC. Here’s how to distinguish them from dogs & stay safe

It’s mating season for coyotes, which means sightings are more common during this time of year, Roland Kays, a zoologist and professor at N.C. State University, told The Charlotte Observer. While you probably won’t see them in urban areas — like downtown Raleigh, Charlotte or Durham — they’re more common in suburbs, farms and fields,… 

Jan 16, 2025 AZO Materials

Amphiphiles Enable Comfortable Wearable Energy Harvesters

Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed wearable technologies that generate electricity from human motion while enhancing user comfort. This advancement is based on a deeper understanding of materials that improve the tactile properties of textiles and produce electricity through friction with other surfaces. 

Jan 16, 2025 Futurity

Chornobyl dogs aren’t different because of mutation

“We have been working with two dog populations that, while separated by just 16 kilometers, or about 10 miles, are genetically distinct,” says corresponding author Matthew Breen, a professor of comparative oncology genetics at North Carolina State University. “We are trying to determine if low-level exposure over many years to environmental toxins such as radiation,… 

Jan 16, 2025 Gizmodo

Chernobyl’s Stray Dogs Are Genetically Distinct—But Radiation Isn’t the Reason

Researchers from North Carolina State (NC State) University and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health have concluded that the genetic differences between dogs in Chernobyl City and the ones near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) were likely not driven by radiation-induced mutations. Their research, detailed in a December 27 study published in the journal… 

Jan 15, 2025 U.S. News & World Report

These U.S. Cities Are Economic Superstars

One of the three anchor communities of the Tar Heel State’s Research Triangle, Raleigh unseated Austin, Texas, as the best-performing large city for 2025 after being runner-up last year. Researchers said the city’s proximity to the Triangle’s three major universities – Duke University, North Carolina State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill… 

Jan 15, 2025 Discover

Chornobyl Dogs Have Genetic Differences but Not From Disaster Mutations

After studying the genomes in dogs living close to and around the Chornobyl disaster site, researchers from North Carolina State University and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health concluded that radiation-induced mutation likely did not cause genetic differences in dog populations living in Chornobyl City and the nearby Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). 

Jan 15, 2025 Popular Science

Chernobyl’s feral dogs are genetically unique, but not mutated

They were particularly on the hunt for evidence of abnormalities such as accumulated germ line DNA mutations—alterations in reproductive cell DNA passed from parents to offspring over multiple generations. Matthew Breen, an NC State professor of comparative oncology genetics and study corresponding author, likened the overall process to using your phone camera’s zoom function. 

Jan 15, 2025 TechXplore

New method forecasts computation, energy costs for sustainable AI models

“There have been studies that focused on making deep learning model training more efficient,” says Jung-Eun Kim, corresponding author of a paper on the work and an assistant professor of computer science at North Carolina State University. “However, over a model’s life cycle, it will likely need to be updated many times. One reason is…