Jul 25, 2023 WRAL

Son shares story of NC State scientist’s role in ‘Oppenheimer’ experiments

Mark Seagondollar was always proud of his father, Dr. Lewis Seagondollar, now deceased. He was the head of the physics department at North Carolina State University, serving there for 10 to 20 years, according to his son. In 1941, during World War II, before Mark Seagondollar was born, his father was among many involved with the… 

Jul 25, 2023 Inside Higher Ed

How the Farm Bill Could Affect Higher Education

“My own budget in North Carolina starts with about $12 million in federal funding,” said Rich Bonanno, director of extension at North Carolina State University. “But last year, my expenditures in extension in North Carolina were $132 million.” 

Jul 25, 2023 The Guardian

US states get tough with ‘war on drugs’-era laws to tackle fentanyl crisis

Jennifer Carroll, a medical anthropologist at North Carolina State University and the author of a recent study that found sweeps to arrest drug dealers actually drove up overdoses, called the new laws “categorically unconscionable”. “We have a lot of very good direct and circumstantial evidence of what the impacts of these laws are going to… 

Jul 25, 2023 Yahoo! News

Sorry, What – The Specks On Strawberries Aren’t Actually Seeds

Get ready for the grossest term you’ll read today – it’s technically “swollen receptacle tissue”, and is made from the part of the strawberry plant that connects the flower to the stem. The growth spurt is triggered when the plant becomes pollinated. “In ’true fruits, like peaches, a flower is pollinated and then the flower’s… 

Jul 24, 2023 Spectrum News

Rocky Mount Pfizer plant hit by tornado remains closed as cleanup continues

A supply chain expert from N.C. State University said damage to the plant highlights issues with oversight and how drugs are manufactured in the country. “I think it speaks to the challenges of our supply chains today, especially in the pharmaceutical sector,” professor Rob Handfield said. “There’s a lot of shortages of genetic drugs, of… 

Jul 24, 2023 The News & Observer

‘That will take weeks:’ Pfizer CEO views Rocky Mount tornado damage as shortages loom

“In some cases, Pfizer may be the largest and only manufacturer of certain drugs,” said Rob Handfield, a professor of operations and supply chain management, at N.C. State University. “It’s not like there’s a lot of competition for some of these medications. They’re very specific, they’re in small batches, the volume of their usage is… 

Jul 24, 2023 Triangle Business Journal

Unattainable

“If they’re owners, they won’t have money to fix the houses they’re in. … If they’re renters and they don’t have the money then they’ll have to leave. … They might find themselves without a place to live,” said Eileen Taylor, a professor of accounting at N.C. State University. “It’s not free to live in… 

Jul 24, 2023 Inside Higher Ed

Religious Accommodation Policies Lacking

The study, conducted as part of a dissertation by a North Carolina State University doctoral student this spring, found that just 55 of the 122 campuses, 45.1 percent, had publicly visible religious accommodation policies. Those policies were more common at public institutions; about 81 percent of them had these policies compared to 58.1 percent of… 

Jul 21, 2023 Entomology Today

Here We Go Again: Meet the Elm Zigzag Sawfly, Another Non-Native Forest Pest

Of note, this detection was made from an observation on the public crowdsourced citizen science website iNaturalist further supporting the usefulness of such online platforms. Native to East Asia, the elm zigzag sawfly, or EZS, is now established in Europe, Canada, and five eastern U.S. states, and these recent occurrences are detailed in a new… 

Jul 21, 2023 The Local Reporter

An invasive insect has conquered Orange County’s ash trees

Experts say it is safe to assume that an ash tree on a property in Orange County is dead or dying because of an invasive insect called the emerald ash borer. “Most ash trees in Orange County are already infested or will be infested soon,” North Carolina State University Assistant Professor Kelly Oten said. 

Jul 21, 2023 The News & Observer

PFAS detected in blood of horses and dogs too near DuPont-built factory in eastern NC

Experts can’t confirm that Whisper’s cough is tied to PFAS exposure on Stewart’s property. But in a recent study prompted by concerned community members, NC State University researchers detected the industrial compounds in dogs and horses, including Whisper, in Gray’s Creek. 

Jul 21, 2023 WCNC

Climate change could affect turkey season

For example, turkeys are relatively inflexible when it comes to reproduction. Research conducted by North Carolina State University found that even changes in temperature and rainfall don’t affect when a turkey will lay an egg. This means that there is a risk for cyclical mismatch, which happens when turkeys are born at times when food… 

Jul 20, 2023 Intelligent Living

Revolutionary Gel Enables 3D Printing of Metal Objects at Room Temperature

North Carolina State University scientists have broken new ground in the 3D-printing world with the development of a pioneering gel that enables the production of metal objects at room temperature. Though various methods currently exist for the 3D printing of metal objects, they all require heat, making it challenging to produce particular heat-sensitive electronics. This… 

Jul 20, 2023 Food Safety News

Experts discuss use of crowdsourced data in outbreak investigations

Setting the scene, Ben Chapman, from North Carolina State University, said crowdsourcing could be used as part of early warning systems and contribute to real-time monitoring of food safety hazards. Benefits include increased or enhanced data collection, community engagement, a deeper view on certain situations, and a cost-effective approach to data collection. 

Jul 20, 2023 Health News

North Carolina Chiggers Host Disease-Causing Bacteria

Co-author R. Michael Roe, a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Entomology at N.C. State says, “We don’t know if this is a recent introduction into the state or if the bacterium has been here for years. We also don’t know if the infected chiggers found in North Carolina actually will cause disease; this has…