Undergoing surgery is seldom a pleasant experience, and it can sometimes be highly invasive. Surgical procedures have evolved steadily over the centuries, growing with the knowledge of anatomy and biology.
Splash a few drops of water on a hot pan and if the pan is hot enough, the water will sizzle and the droplets of water seem to roll and float, hovering above the surface.
You’re settling down in your patio chair, ready to enjoy a book, a pitcher of lemonade, and the sun-warmed breeze, when a mosquito settles down on your arm. And another lands on your leg, while another buzzes right by your ear. Virginia Tech entomologist Eric Day says that when it comes to controlling mosquitoes, there aren’t easy short cuts.
It’s visually striking. When fully grown, open wings display showy hind wings with bright red near the abdomen, black spots, and black-and-white bars. But the spotted lanternfly, an invasive insect that came to the United States from its native habitat of Southeast Asia in 2014, is destructive. Despite its name, though, the spotted lanternfly is not a fly.
As the summer season approaches, lots of people will be planning to host or attend backyard cookouts and potlucks. But before you fire up the grill, Virginia Tech food safety expert Melissa Wright shares tips to protect yourself, your family, and your friends from foodborne illnesses during the warm-weather months. “Safe food handling when eating outdoors is critical,” says Wright.
Lucy, with her boundless puppy-like energy even at 12 years old, is more than just a pet to Susan Ketcham. She's now part of a research project that could transform the way we treat brain cancer – in both dogs and humans. This study at Virginia Tech's Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine explores an innovative therapy called histotripsy.
May is Skin Cancer Awareness month, intended to call attention to the most common, but also most preventable, form of cancer. With summer just around the corner, Dr. Stephanie Lareau with the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine outlined many ways to protect yourself from too much ultraviolet radiation and avoid the dangers of too much sun exposure.
May is both Brain Tumor Awareness Month and National Cancer Research Month. Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC is dedicated to advancing health through a better understanding of cancer and brain tumors and developing new ways to treat and prevent them.
Mother’s Day celebrations in the United States bring family together — and bring a lot of business to the floral industry, with flowers one of the most popular gifts. Floral design instructor Barbara Leshyn talks about what the holiday means for the floral industry, what kinds of flowers make the most popular gifts, and how to make those lovely bouquets last.
Most equipment used in lawn care and landscaping is simple and straightforward to use. However, if it is not operated carefully, it has the potential for accidents and injuries. “Proper lawn equipment safety is not just about protecting yourself, but also those around you,” said Mike Goatley, a professor in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences and a Virginia Cooperative Extension specialist.
For many people, fireflies lighting up backyards is a sign of summertime. The thrill of catching them in a jar and releasing them back into the wild is a childhood pastime. But if you have noticed a decline in fireflies over the years, you’re not alone. Virginia Tech entomologist Eric Day explains why climate and urban development are playing a big role in the decreasing numbers.
The Virginia Tech media relations office has the following experts available for interviews surrounding a variety of topics and research ahead of this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris. To schedule an interview, please contact [email protected]. Can Paris be the model for a more viable, sustainable Olympic host city? The 2024 Paris Summer Games are the first real test for the International Olympic Committee’s Olympic Agenda 2020, a set of 40 recommendations intended to restore the Olympic values.
The new action movie “The Fall Guy” intends to bring more recognition to the often-anonymous profession of stunt performer. Virginia Tech theater professor Cara Rawlings specializes in choreographing fights and falls for stage productions, and students of hers have gone on to successful stunt work careers in film and television.
Mention the name “Fallout” to a dedicated gamer, and you might well see their eyes light up with nostalgia. Amazon Prime’s new “Fallout” TV show racked up high scores with critics and audiences alike. Virginia Tech media expert James Ivory answered questions about the appeal of “Fallout” and what its success could mean for the future of entertainment media.
As Lyme disease cases rise in the U.S., humans are not the only ones at risk. Veterinarians with the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine say dogs are increasingly vulnerable to this tick-borne illness. “Black-legged ticks, also called deer ticks, are most common carriers of Borrelia burgdorfer and can be found in the northeastern and north-central parts of the U.
Former President Donald Trump’s legal entanglements as he campaigns for reelection have reached the highest level of stakes yet with jury selection completed in his New York state criminal trial.
Researchers in the College of Engineering explore a cancer immunotherapy treatment that involves activating the immune cells in the body and reprogramming them to attack and destroy cancer cells. This therapeutic method frequently uses cytokines, small protein molecules that act as intercellular biochemical messengers and are released by the body's immune cells to coordinate their response.
A third of China’s urban population at risk of city sinking, according to new satellite data. In an invited article for the journal Science, Manoochehr Shirzaei discusses how this phenomenon points to a global problem: Land is sinking everywhere.
Open-water swimming requires athletes to take into account a wide number of variables. Roberta Freitas-Lemos said when she’s in the ocean, temperature fluctuations, murky conditions, and the motion of the waves make it a challenging sport, both physically and mentally. Complexity also characterizes Freitas-Lemos’ research at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, where she works at the intersection of tobacco use, health equity, and cancer.
Anticipating changes to ecosystems is often at best an educated guess, but what if there was a way to better tune into possible changes occurring? A team of researchers led by Grace O’Malley, a Ph.D. candidate in biological sciences, and Gabrielle Ripa, a Ph.D. student in plant and environmental sciences, have discovered that the silent growth of non-native invasive plants can affect the soundscape of an ecosystem.
Tom Dingus has dedicated his life’s work to improving roadway safety through innovative transportation technologies and amassed multiple awards for his efforts. The Society of Automotive Engineers’ (SAE) International Humanitarian Award now joins that list. The award recognizes work with undeniably positive impact on safety in transportation in honor of Arnold W.
Each May, millions of people preserve the blooming dandelions and clover in their lawns by leaving their lawn mowers idle — a practice called No Mow May.
Almost one-fifth of the global land surface is classified as highly susceptible to rainfall-triggered landslides. According to the World Health Organization, landslides are more widespread than any other geological hazard to occur worldwide and are increasing because of climate change.
The mining industry is booming, but the industry is digging deep to find highly trained mining engineers. Across all sectors, from consumer electronics to the defense industry and from automotive manufacturing to aerospace, mineral needs are increasing. In particular, green energy technologies such as electric vehicle batteries, solar panels, grid energy storage, and wind turbines require such metals as copper, lithium, cobalt, rare earths, and manganese.
Federal approvals for flying drones over people have been advanced through Virginia Tech research. As of April 5, the updated means of compliance established by the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership has been accepted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and published as a notice of availability in the federal register, establishing its availability for use.
If artificial intelligence (AI) was a car, data would be the fuel. But what if there was no way to ensure that fuel wasn’t full of waste? How would this fuel be filtered, and how would that information reach consumers? Ran Jin, associate professor in the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, is determined to fuel AI models in the Manufacturing Industrial Internet with high-quality data.
For the first time in more than 200 years, billions of cicadas - two different broods - will emerge from the ground at the same time. These two different broods have not been seen together since the 1800s. But, as Virginia Tech entomologist Doug Pfeiffer explained not everyone will see this once in a lifetime spectacle.
Adapted from the novels by Cixin Liu, the science fiction television series 3 Body Problem, the latest from the creators of HBO’s Game of Thrones, has become the most watched show on Netflix since its debut last month.
In an effort to revolutionize the health care system through operations research and systems engineering, Sait Tunc, an assistant professor in the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, has received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award.
Many who suffer from seasonal allergies might be experiencing more severe symptoms this year due to the early start of spring. Rebecca Schapira, D.O., an assistant professor at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and an allergist with Carilion Clinic, provides insight on how to detect early allergy symptoms and prepare for their impact on your overall health.
April is here which means tax filing is upon us. While taxes can be stressful, there is also a concern about the information you share and the impact on your privacy.
Christopher Hourigan, director of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Cancer Research Center — D.C., was inducted this week into the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) — a historic membership for a faculty member of Virginia Tech.
Formerly a National Institutes of Health senior investigator who studies and treats blood cancer, Christopher Hourigan has joined Virginia Tech to lead cancer research at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute in Washington, D.C.
For centuries, “open sesame” have been the magic words used to gain access to a cave of treasures. When it comes to the wonders of wireless, there’s only one magic phrase for unlocking the wireless future: “Open Radio Access networks” (O-RAN).
New research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Virginia Tech suggests that technologies such as controlled environment agriculture and agrivoltaics may become part of the future of farming. Controlled environment agriculture systems are typically enclosed or indoors.
Rapid moving advances in artificial intelligence have stirred controversy and debate, but they have all raised enticing prospects for supercharged technological innovation. Researchers at Virginia Tech who are exploring these frontiers can offer previews of the potential positive developments that could derive from AI.
As March Madness tips off this week, the men’s NCAA Tournament is not the only game in town drawing big interest, ratings, and betting. Jadrian Wooten, a Virginia Tech collegiate associate professor in the Department of Economics, explains how investment and interest in women’s basketball has created a “virtuous cycle” spurring growth in one another to help close the gender equity gap.
The vote this week by the U.S. House of Representatives, by an overwhelming 352-65 margin, could lead to a nationwide ban of the popular social media app TikTok.
Women make up only 35% of the workforce in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) - the greatest disparities occurring in engineering and computer sciences. Christina DiMarino, an engineering professor at Virginia Tech, said now is the time to flip the script and explained why it is so important that education for women and underrepresented groups about STEM fields starts early in life.
Women’s History Month recognizes the achievements of women throughout the world. Virginia Tech political science expert Farida Jalalzai reflects on world leaders who are women, and how in recent years they’ve broken down barriers and expanded understandings of the roles of women in governance.
The idea that people make decisions based on social context is not a new one in neural economic games. But now, for the first time, researchers publishing in Nature Human Behavior show the impact of the social context may spring from the dynamic interactions of dopamine and serotonin. Researchers built carbon-fiber electrodes that were implanted in patients receiving Deep Brain Stimulation surgery. The method allows researchers to measure more than one neurotransmitter at a time, revealing a dance that has never been seen before
As California and the west coast stare down yet another major winter storm, the threat of devastating flooding and mudslides is even more urgent. Drew Ellis, a climate science and meteorology expert at Virginia Tech, explains what causes these conditions.
The Republican race for a candidate to take on President Joe Biden in November’s election continues to be a two-person show, with Saturday’s South Carolina primary the latest stage. Virginia Tech political expert Caitlin Jewitt answers questions about the shape of the race through the South Carolina primary, the Super Tuesday contest on March 5, and beyond.
With national elections looming in the United States, concerns about misinformation are sharper than ever, and advances in artificial intelligence have made distinguishing genuine news sites from fake ones even more challenging. Virginia Tech experts explore three different facets of the AI-fueled spread of fake news sites and the efforts to combat them.