Pledge right now to provide warm winter wear to children in the Triangle and eastern NC.

Coats for the Children: Donate today

Coats for the Children with QR code

Michelle Mackonochie - familiar to WRAL viewers after five years as part of the morning news team - will anchor the 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. newscasts with Dan Haggerty, and the 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts with Gerald Owens. 

WRAL welcomes Michelle Mackonochie to evening newscasts beginning Jan. 5

Michelle Mackonochie

What it really means to be an organ and bone marrow donor

Stay up to date with WRAL’s Laboratory news and reporting coverage

Laboratory News and Reporting Coverage | WRAL

Laboratory Coverage

WRAL climate reporter Liz McLaughlin shows us how a North Carolina scientist is creating products made with leather from cows that are still alive.

ON COSTUMES ALONE SPENDING ON DECORATIONS WILL ALSO EXCEEDED 4 BILLION DOLLARS RIGHT LEVER WITHOUT LIVESTOCK AND NORTH CAROLINA. SCIENTISTS SAYS IT'S POSSIBLE IT COULD HELP CUT THE INDUSTRY'S ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT. >> WRAL'S CLIMATE CHANGE REPORTER LIZ MCLAUGHLIN SHOWS US HOW. THIS WALLET WAS MADE FROM A COW THAT'S STILL ALIVE IS NOT A HORROR MOVIE. IT'S SCIENCE. A NORTH CAROLINA RESEARCHER HAS COME UP WITH A WAY TO MAKE REAL LEATHER IN A LAB. >> NO SLAUGHTER REQUIRED ISRAEL IN A ROW. THE LAB BIO-MEDICAL ENGINEER GEORGE ENGEL MEYER IS GROWING REAL LEATHER FROM LIVING COW CELLS. WE ARE THE FIRST COMPANY IN THE WORLD. >> TO FIRST CULTIVATED LEATHER PRODUCT. THIS IS A LEATHER GROWN HARMLESSLY FROM THE CELLS OF A COW THAT IS STILL ALIVE. HER NAME IS ANGEL RESCUED COW. STILL GRAZING AT A SANCTUARY IN NEW YORK HERE IN NORTH CAROLINA. HER CELLS GROW ON PLANT-BASED SCAFFOLD, FORMING THIN WRINKLED SHEETS THAT LOOK LIKE SKIN. >> WHEN THE CELLS ATTACH TO THESE FABRICS WILL BEGIN TO FORM COLLEGE AND THEN OTHER PROTEINS THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH CONVENTIONAL LEATHER INSTEAD OF CHEMICAL TANNING ENGEL. MEYER USES TREE BARK AND SO PART OF HIS PUSH TO MAKE LEATHER WITHOUT THE POLLUTION OR PAIN MARCHES. >> TO FOCUS FIRST AND FOREMOST ON. >> NEVER HARM. AND THE ANIMAL. IT'S A CRUELTY. FREE. INNOVATION THAT COULD SLASH WASTE AND EMISSIONS IN THE 400 BILLION DOLLAR LEATHER INDUSTRY FOR NOW, ENGEL MEYER, CRAFTS, WALLETS AND JEWELRY BY HAND FOR HIS COMPANY CULTIVATED BIOMATERIALS THIS FESTIVAL. 10 LEATHERS ARE KNOWN TO GET BETTER WITH AGE. AND SO ULTIMATELY DEVELOPED THE >> VERY UNIQUE PATINA, A GLIMPSE AT HOW COMPASSION AND TECHNOLOGY COULD RESHAPE THE FUTURE OF FASHION. >> AS SCIENTISTS WORK TO PERFECT THE MATERIALS, STRENGTH AND TEXTURE, THE COMPANY PLANS TO MOVE FROM JEWELRY AND WALLETS TO WATCH BANDS AND HANDBAGS NEXT YEAR IN RALEIGH. I'M LIZ MCLAUGHLIN, WRAL NEWS, THE JEWELRY LINE IS CALLED ANGEL RE, OF COURSE, NAMED AFTER THAT COW IN THE COMPANY IS NOW RAISING MONEY ON KICKSTARTER TO SCALE UP PRODUCTION. BE LAB GROWN. LEATHER IS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN CONVENTIONAL LEATHER RIGHT NOW. BUT THE COMPANY SAYS THEY HOPE

Leather without livestock: No slaughter required for lab-grown wallet

Lab-grown wallet

Research Triangle Park has become a booming market for shared lab facilities. The buildings typically offer communal office spaces, research areas and laboratories for rent.

INVOLVED. THOSE STORIES AND MORE IN ABOUT 15 MINUTES. STAND PHARMACY THEN. THANK YOU, JEFF. LET'S TALK ABOUT INNOVATION IN THE TRIANGLE. >> SO BEFORE THE PRESCRIPTIONS IN THE PILLS GETTING YOUR MEDICINE CABINET FIRST, THEY HAVE TO BE DEVELOPED AND TESTED AND MADE. IT'S A PROCESS THAT CAN TAKE YEARS AND COST MILLIONS. SOME LOCAL COMPANIES ARE SPEEDING UP THAT PROCESS, THOUGH, AND SAVING MONEY BY USING SHARED LAB SPACES. WRAL'S HEALTH REPORTER GRACE HABER EXPLAINS HOW THE CITY'S WORK AND WHY THE TRIANGLE'S BECOMING HOME TO SO MANY. >> DRIVING AROUND THE TRIANGLE, ESPECIALLY YOUR RTP. YOU PROBABLY PAST BUILDINGS JUST LIKE THIS ONE. THEY MAY LOOK LIKE YOUR AVERAGE WAREHOUSE, BUT INSIDE SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION IS HELPING GET MEDICINE TO MARKET FASTER WERE PRIMARILY SELLING GENE THERAPY. BIOTECH PHARMACEUTICAL FIRMS, ONCOLOGY DRUGS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. JUGUETES WORKS WITH THESE OR GROUP. IT'S THE SAME COMPANY MODERNA LEASED SPACE FROM TO DEVELOP ITS COVID-19 VACCINE. LAST SUMMER AS OR OPENED THIS LOCATION IN MORRISVILLE ARE SO MANY INNOVATIVE STARTUP FIRMS HERE THAT COULD REALLY BENEFIT FROM THIS MODEL EXTERIOR ROOMS INCLUDE THINGS LIKE OFFICE SPACES, MEETING ROOMS AND CHANGING AREAS AT THE HEART OF THE BUILDING. YOU'LL FIND 24 OF WHAT ARE CALLED CLEAN ROOMS FOR RENT. THEY'RE BASICALLY STERILE ENVIRONMENTS WHERE SCIENTISTS CAN WORK THERE COMPLETE WITH THINGS LIKE LAB GRADE FREEZERS AND THESE COVERALLS THIS ROOM IS HOW THE ISSUE TO A CLIENT MAY BE READY TO MOVE THEIR EQUIPMENT IN AND MANUFACTURE THEIR PRODUCTS. THE SPACES RUN ABOUT 80 GRAND A MONTH FOR A STANDARD SET UP. IT STILL SOUNDS EXPENSIVE. BUT IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL WORLD, IT'S A STEAL BUILDING THEIR OWN FACILITY FROM SCRATCH WOULD COST 10'S OF MILLIONS. AND FOR STARTUPS. THAT'S NOT AN OPTION HERE. BIG AND SMALL COMPANIES CAN MOVE IN AND BE MANUFACTURING IN A MATTER OF WEEKS. DO YOU SEE SPACES LIKE THIS AS THE FUTURE OF PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURING? >> I SEE IT AS EXISTING ALONGSIDE THE OTHER OPTIONS. FARMS WILL ALWAYS WANT TO BUILD THEIR OWN FACILITY WHEN THEY GET TO A CERTAIN SCALE. BUT I THINK THIS MODEL, WHICH IS RELATIVELY UNIQUE IN RELATIVELY NEW, IS HERE TO SAY GRACE HABE, A WRAL NEWS NOW, ACCORDING TO CBRE, THAT'S THE LARGEST COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE COMPANY IN THE RALEIGH, DURHAM MARKET LAB AND RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT

Shared lab spaces help get medicines to market faster

The exterior rooms of a shared lab building include things like office spaces, meeting rooms and changing areas. The heart of the building contains 24 cleanrooms, customizable to a client's business needs.

Laboratory News and Reporting Coverage | WRAL

Leather without livestock: No slaughter required for lab-grown wallet

Shared lab spaces help get medicines to market faster

Leased, custom labs allow drug makers to grow quickly in shared space

Leased, custom labs allow drug makers to grow quickly in shared space