Local Features

Weird Science: Citizen science and monkey sweat help NC researcher determine whether current obsession with skincare routines may be doing more harm than good

Annette Weston

Dr. Julie Horvath is the head of the Genomics & Microbiology Research Lab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and also an Associate Research Professor at North Carolina Central University. She’s studying personal hygiene and its effects on the microbes on our skin – by taking samples from people's arm pits and from the underarms of other primates.

A welcome sign stands outside of the Holcomb Gate on Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Jan. 8, 2008. MCB Camp Lejeune has been noted as the Home of the Expeditionary Forces in Readiness; directly supporting the II Marine Expeditionary Force.

New motion accuses government of burying Camp Lejeune case in mountain of redundant, meritless motions

Annette Weston

Seventy-two years after service members were first exposed to toxic water at Camp Lejeune, and three years after the passage of the Camp Lejeune Justice Act, litigation over the resulting health impacts remains ongoing, with a new motion filed this week in an attempt to speed things up.

The Dueling Dinosaurs were found in the Hell Creek Formation of Montana by ranchers in 2006, and the find included the fossilized skeletons of a tyrannosaur and a triceratops entangled with one another, and entombed in sandstone.

Discovery of the decade: North Carolina researchers identify new species in Dueling Dinosaur fossil

Annette Weston

Nano Tyrannus lancensis was first identified in the 1940s but later largely dismissed by the paleontological community as just a younger T-rex. But the head of paleontology at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences said research has confirmed the differences between the two Tyrannosaurs were far greater than just size.

Rachel Whitner and her husband operate the No Rules food truck – with a revolving menu that might include a pineapple burger one day and a steak and cheese sandwich the next.

From Wild West chuck wagons to food truck gourmet treats; how modern technology relaunched and reshaped mobile dining

Annette Weston

From Carolina barbeque to Cajun treats, sweets and donuts, food with a Mexican or Caribbean flair, there are dozens of food trucks feeding people in eastern North Carolina.

A consultant determined that taking advantage of the remains of a Civil War era arsenal right outside their doors was the right move for the proposed Civil War History Center. Educational director, Dr. Michael McElreath said the arsenal, "Was destroyed by Sherman, but it's still got the footprint there and you could use that as a memory peg to tell the story of the whole state in the Civil War, and people are interested in the Civil War.”

As Civil War History Center moves forward, professors take discussions about the war to local communities across the state

Annette Weston

In Richlands, Civil War History Center Educational director, Dr. Michael McElreath and history professors from Appalachian State University and University of North Carolina - Wilmington led discussions on the Civil War in Eastern North Carolina and how best to teach both about the causes of the war and divisions in the United States today.

In a series of science workshops at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, scientists and chefs taught K-12 teachers and others how to make fermented foods like kimchi.

Weird Science: Kombucha and kimchi, fermented foods that are more than a trending fad

Annette Weston

A new North Carolina study connected cooking with science, examining how fermented foods like kombucha and kimchi – which have had a huge surge in popularity in recent years – not only taste good but are also good for you.

Update: Seventh Buxton home this week falls into the Atlantic as offshore Hurricanes Imelda and Humberto churn up the surf

Annette Weston

Cape Hatteras officials said the beach in the Buxton area is dangerous, and remains closed because of hazardous debris, following the collapses of seven homes in Buxton in the past few days. Three houses on Cottage Avenue and two on Tower Circle Road fell into the Atlantic Tuesday afternoon, and, according to the seashore’s website, a third on Tower Circle Road tumbled into the water sometime overnight. Wednesday evening, another home on Tower Circle Road collapsed.

“You can come in and actually eat bugs," said Abby Lewis, who works in public events for the museum. "So, we have chefs invited from around North Carolina, and they cook with, this year, crickets, mealworms, or super worms.” The menu is pretty diverse, with mac and cheese, cookies, and curry.

Eat bugs, roll simulated dung, and learn more about creepy-crawly creatures at museum's BugFest on Saturday

Annette Weston

The annual BugFest at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh includes more than 100 exhibits tied to bugs, some hands-on activities to explore, and entomologists to guide visitors through the intricate world of arthropods. Perhaps slightly more surprising than the scientists, there will also be chefs.

Cape Hatteras superintendent: Large number of threatened oceanfront structures right up next to or over the Atlantic

Annette Weston

Cleanup is underway at Cape Hatteras National Seashore after a house in Buxton collapsed into the Atlantic this week, and the superintendent of the seashore said threatened structures on the barrier islands are not a new phenomenon.

A moment of silence was held before students planted American flags to line the walkways of the campus in tribute to those that lost their lives in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Craven Community College 9/11 tribute speaker wistful for sense of unification felt in America after the terrorist attacks

Annette Weston

The keynote speaker at the 9/11 tribute, Christopher Previglian, is a veteran that watched the events in New York unfold firsthand. He said, “I was right on the Hudson River, and I could see both towers from the south side of the building I was on.”