Sep 22, 2023 SciTechDaily

Scientists Reveal That Self-Driving Cars Can Make Traffic Slower

“There are two significant reasons that people are interested in automated vehicles – improving passenger safety and reducing travel time,” says Ali Hajbabaie, first author of a paper on the work and an associate professor of civil, construction, and environmental engineering at North Carolina State University. 

Sep 22, 2023 NPR

Anheuser-Busch says it will no longer amputate the tails of Budweiser’s Clydesdales

“Docking may be done either surgically or by ligature—placing rubber rings or other binders around the end of the tail to cause tissue to die,” Kate Hepworth-Warren, assistant professor of veterinary medicine at North Carolina State University, writes in Equus. “Surgical removal must be done by a licensed veterinarian in states where the procedure is legal. Pain… 

Sep 22, 2023 News Nation

Study: How many adults get by without parents’ help?

About one-third of adults could be considered completely independent. The study, published in Sociological Perspectives, challenges the idea that “complete independence is a necessary marker of adulthood,” said report co-author Anna Manzoni, an associate professor of sociology at North Carolina State University. 

Sep 22, 2023 The Jerusalem Post

Why do most Americans rely on parents for financial support as adults?

Two-thirds of Americans from their late teens through their early 40s depend on their parents for some form of material support, according to a new study published by sociologists at North Carolina State University and Duke University. 

Sep 21, 2023 Earth.com

How freshwater mussels are threatened by sea-level rise

Study co-author Joseph McIver from North Carolina State University emphasized the global significance of the issue.  “Climate change represents a serious threat to our aquatic ecosystems worldwide and the organisms that live there,” said McIver.  “Protecting and conserving our already highly imperiled freshwater mussels is of paramount importance and our research on the effects of… 

Sep 21, 2023 Anthropocene Magazine

In a first, researchers have engineered marine bacteria to destroy plastics in seawater

Some microbes have been found to have the ability to break down plastic. Researchers have genetically engineered bacteria, or even just the enzymes they produce, to convert plastic waste into valuable chemicals. A key limitation with these previously modified organisms is that “their growth is inhibited by high concentrations of salt,” the NCSU team writes. That means microplastics would… 

Sep 21, 2023 Study Finds

Most Americans still rely on parents for financial support well into adulthood

Countless people are eager to espouse the virtues of hard work and “standing on one’s own two feet” to anyone who will listen, but researchers from North Carolina State University suggest most Americans actually rely on their parents for financial support long past their 18th birthday. Researchers found that just a third of U.S. adults… 

Sep 21, 2023 Phys.org

How racism shapes Black motherhood in the US

“All mothers experience stress; but Black mothers in the U.S. experience additional stresses specifically related to parenting and racism,” says Mia Brantley, author of the study and an assistant professor of sociology at NC State. “That has consequences for the health and well-being of Black mothers. If we want to develop ways to support Black moms… 

Sep 20, 2023 Farm Progress

New peanut variety extends harvest window for growers

North Carolina State University Peanut Breeder Jeff Dunne remains hopeful that enough seed of NC 20, the new late season peanut cultivar released by his program, will be available to peanut farmers who want to give the variety a try next year. 

Sep 20, 2023 WPIX

See this pattern on leaves? It could be an invasive insect

The bug does not sting and is harmless to people and animals, according to Brian Heath, a North Carolina Forest Service forest health specialist. It is currently considered a quarantine pest in the U.S., meaning the USDA has to confirm each new reported detection in individual counties, Dr. Kelly Oten, an assistant professor and extension… 

Sep 20, 2023 The Morning News

Engineered Organism Breaks Down Plastic To Reduce Pollution

Scientists genetically modified marine organisms to breakdown plastics inside salt water, according to a new study. The researchers from the NC State University worked on two different bacteria, which were modified to function as plastic-destroyers in salt water. 

Sep 20, 2023 Farm Progress

Don’t abandon this peanut insecticide just yet

While Admire Pro appears not to be performing as well as it once did for the control of thrips in peanuts, now is not the time for farmers to abandon the technology. That’s the advice from North Carolina State University Extension Entomologist Rick Brandenburg. He points out that while thrips control is slipping a bit… 

Sep 19, 2023

Study examines the hard reality that no pollen means no seeds

North Carolina State University researchers have successfully transferred an important gene from one compartment of a plant cell to another to produce tobacco plants that lack pollen and viable seeds, while otherwise growing normally. Their findings could lead to better ways of producing hybrid seeds to maximize crop productivity, or to introduce seedlessness in fruit… 

Sep 19, 2023 The Coastland Times

You Decide: Is higher education facing a reset?

To control costs, higher education institutions will be under increased pressure to evaluate programs and services on a cost/benefit basis and make some very hard decisions about generating savings. Based on my experience as a faculty member over seven different decades, I know most faculty strongly believe their work is essential. I don’t envy those… 

Sep 19, 2023 Science Daily

Canopy gaps help Eastern hemlock outlast invasive insect

“An integrated pest management strategy is the best approach in cases like this,” says Robert Jetton, associate professor of forest health at North Carolina State University and study co-author. “Integrated pest management utilizes multiple tactics to combat insect pests and can include chemical insecticides, seed preservation, biological control, and silviculture, or managing the surrounding forest.