Jim Shamp

At first blush, the formal name of North Carolina’s official state flower might make it seem like a misplaced row crop: Cornus florida. But there’s a growing possibility that the uplifting springtime blossom’s parent plant, the flowering dogwood tree, will soon establish an even bigger place North Carolina’s agricultural economy. That’s the motive behind a research project funded by a $100,000 Collaborative Funding Grant from the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and the Kenan Institute for Engineering, Technology & Science at North Carolina State University. Cornus (the Latin name for dogwood) florida (which in this lower case simply means “flowering”)...

Editor’s note: Jim Shamp is senior editor at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — Poinsettias – white or red, mottled or green – are the cheerful plant favored as the harbinger of these wintertime holidays. Every year growers race to develop them in new colors, breeding bigger or different plant forms, greater disease resistance or longevity. During the past few years, purveyors of the florid flora have even pushed the color envelope with artificially painted, glittered and variously tinted offerings to broaden sales and boost earnings. But with more than 4 million poinsettia plants sold wholesale...

Editor’s note: Veteran journalist Jim Shamp is Senior Editor at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – Dogs, cats, horses and other animals may get a new lease on life and health, while also helping in the development of human therapies. It’s the upshot of a regenerative medicine partnership announced by officials of North Carolina State University and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. (Read details here.) Another big benefit: the agreement also heightens North Carolina’s global leadership in the amazing world of cell- by-cell body-building. NCSU, housing North Carolina’s only veterinary school, and the private medical...

Editor’s note: Jim Shamp is senior editor at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. RALEIGH, N.C. – It’s been only four years since Agile Sciences spun out of North Carolina State University, but the young Raleigh biotech company is developing an international reputation as an up-and-coming scum-buster. The beauty of Agile’s business lies in the proprietary way it uses sponges to mop up nasty bacteria. Actually, it uses a chemical from a sea sponge to break up bacterial clumps called biofilms. Probably the most well-known example of a biofilm is dental plaque – a build-up of bacteria in a form...