Agriculture and Life Sciences

Dec 2, 2014

Study Finds Insects Play Important Role in Dealing with Garbage on NYC Streets

In the city that never sleeps, it’s easy to overlook the insects underfoot. But that doesn’t mean they’re not working hard. A new study shows that insects play a significant role in disposing of garbage on the streets of Manhattan. 

Nov 19, 2014

Warmer Temperatures Limit Impact of Parasites, Boost Pest Populations

Research shows that some insect pests are thriving in warm, urban environments and developing earlier, limiting the impact of parasitoid wasps that normally help keep those pest populations in check. 

Nov 17, 2014

Something Resistant This Way Comes: An Insect Mystery

An NC State entomology researcher has found that a feared crop pest found in North Carolina is becoming resistant to a common method used to protect crops. 

Sep 8, 2014

Helping Keep School Lunches Safe

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Ellen Thomas, a Ph.D candidate in NC State’s Department of Food Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences. This post also appears on the food safety blog barfblog.com. In 2006, an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak associated with bagged spinach resulted in 205 illnesses and three deaths. Investigators cited many factors, including… 

Aug 4, 2014

Researchers Develop Food Safety Social Media Guide

To help protect public health, researchers from North Carolina State University have developed guidelines on how to use social media to communicate effectively about food safety. 

Jul 23, 2014

Urban Heat Boosts Some Pest Populations 200-Fold, Killing Red Maples

New research from North Carolina State University shows that urban “heat islands” are slowly killing red maples in the southeastern United States. One factor is that researchers have found warmer temperatures increase the number of young produced by the gloomy scale insect – a significant tree pest – by 300 percent, which in turn leads… 

Jun 19, 2014

Researchers Develop Genetic Control Mechanism for Major Livestock Pest

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a technique to control populations of the Australian sheep blowfly – a major livestock pest in Australia and New Zealand – by making female flies dependent upon a common antibiotic to survive. Dr. Max Scott, professor of entomology at NC State, and his research team genetically modified lines… 

May 23, 2014

Lack of Plant Diversity Spurs Cankerworm Damage in Cities

Research from North Carolina State University finds that a lack of plant diversity is a key contributor to the widespread defoliation caused by cankerworms in cities, and highlights the role that increasing diversity can play in limiting future damage. 

May 21, 2014

Dam Removal Improves Shad Spawning Grounds, May Boost Survival Rate

Research from North Carolina State University finds that dam removal improves spawning grounds for American shad and seems likely to improve survival rates for adult fish, juveniles and eggs – but for different reasons. 

May 20, 2014

Researchers Sequence Genome of Primitive Termite

North Carolina State University entomologists are part of a research team that has for the first time sequenced the genome of a member of the termite order, the dampwood termite (Zootermopsis nevadensis). A paper reports the findings today in Nature Communications. The findings on the genetic blueprint of the dampwood termite, one of the world’s… 

May 9, 2014

Bee Biodiversity Boosts Blueberry Crop Yields

Research from North Carolina State University shows that blueberries produce more seeds and larger berries if they are visited by more diverse bee species, allowing farmers to harvest significantly more pounds of fruit per acre. 

May 1, 2014

Increased Drought Portends Lower Future Midwest Crop Yields

Increasingly harsh drought conditions in the U.S. Midwest’s Corn Belt may take a serious toll on corn and soybean yields over the next half-century, according to research published today in the journal Science. Corn yields could drop by 15 to 30 percent, according to the paper’s estimates; soybean yield losses would be less severe. North… 

Apr 28, 2014

Urbanization, Higher Temperatures Can Influence Butterfly Emergence Patterns

An international team of researchers has found that a subset of common butterfly species are emerging later than usual in urban areas located in warmer regions, raising questions about how the insects respond to significant increases in temperature. 

Apr 24, 2014

Researchers Sequence Genome of Tsetse Fly

An international consortium of researchers, including an entomologist from North Carolina State University, sequenced the genetic blueprint, or genome, of the tsetse fly, one of the world’s most dangerous vectors of human and livestock disease. Tsetse flies (Glossina morsitans) are found in Africa, feed exclusively on blood and transmit sleeping sickness, or African trypanosomiasis. Some… 

Apr 18, 2014

Study Suggests Dan River Water Is Suitable for Irrigation and as Drinking Water for Livestock

Using projections of water-quality trends based on hundreds of water analyses made during a 40-day period following the release of approximately 39,000 tons of coal ash into the Dan River on Feb. 2, 2014, North Carolina State University soil scientists conclude that the river water is suitable for use as irrigation water on crops and…