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How cockroaches are evolving to avoid sweets

In the News

NC State news is shared far and wide. Below are just some of our recent appearances in local, regional, national and international media publications.

May 24, 2013

Cockroaches outsmarting sugar traps

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… 

May 24, 2013

Scientists uncover a secret to cockroaches’ adaptability

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. 

May 24, 2013

New Technique for Creating High-Quality Atomic-Scale Semiconductor Thin Films

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. 

May 24, 2013

Dogs bring swarm of bacteria into your home

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. 

May 24, 2013

Dogs bring swarm of bacteria into your home

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. 

May 24, 2013

Dog Owner Homes Are Bacteria-Ridden – And That’s Not Necessarily A Bad Thing

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. 

May 24, 2013

Study: Cockroaches survive by losing sweet tooth

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… 

May 24, 2013

Cockroaches quickly lose sweet tooth to survive

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. 

May 24, 2013

Method Creates Atomic-Scale Semiconductors

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. 

May 24, 2013

Mutant Cockroaches Learn to Avoid Sugar to Outsmart Traps

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. 

May 24, 2013

How Pesticides Pushed Cockroaches Into Rapid Evolution

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. 

May 24, 2013

New technique to grow semiconductor thin films

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. 

May 24, 2013

There Is Ample Room to Find Offsets When Disaster Strikes

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. 

May 24, 2013

A Bitter/Sweet Shift in Cockroach Defenses

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. 

May 24, 2013

How cockroaches are evolving to avoid sweets

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.