Newsroom

In a counter-intuitive finding, new research from North Carolina State University shows that a species of shellfish widely consumed in the Pacific over the past 3,000 years has actually increased in size, despite – and possibly because of – increased human activity in the area. Continue Reading »

A new study from North Carolina State University shows that genetics play a key factor in whether someone is willing to take a survey. Continue Reading »

As American workers are faced with the “Great Recession” of the 21st century, how are they faring this Labor Day? What role might organized labor play, or not play, in the upcoming fall 2010 elections? Labor historian and North Carolina State University professor Dr. David Zonderman can provide historical perspective on this and other questions on the labor movement in the United States. Continue Reading »

What:
North Carolina Sate University’s Dog Olympics is an annual charitable event organized by veterinary students that is open to dogs of all breeds, shapes and sizes. Medal events include athletic and non-athletic competitions such as doggie limbo, musical sit, look-a-like, high jump and many more. College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) faculty members will oversee the events and award prizes to gold, silver and bronze medalists.

This year’s event will also feature a canine paralympics, with contests for paralyzed dogs including the best-dressed dog and cart, a cart race and an obstacle course.

Dog attendees should be kept on a leash at all times and must be at least four months old and current on vaccinations in order to
participate.

Who:
Sponsored by the CVM Student Chapter of the American Animal Hospital Association (SCAAHA).

When:
Saturday, Sept. 11, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Where:
Moore Square, located in downtown Raleigh.

Cost:
Admission is $1 for spectators and owners, $7 for dogs, and free for children five and younger. The cost of canine admission covers an entry fee for one event and a photo of your dog in the winner’s circle. Each additional event or photo is $1.

Contact:
For more information, email dogolympicsCVM@gmail.com, or visit www.cvmdogolympics.com

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Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed extremely small microneedles that can be used to deliver medically-relevant nanoscale dyes called quantum dots into skin – an advance that opens the door to new techniques for diagnosing and treating a variety of medical conditions, including skin cancer. Continue Reading »

Laughter can play key roles in group communication and group dynamics – even when there’s nothing funny going on. That’s according to new research from North Carolina State University that examined the role of laughter in jury deliberations during a capital murder case. Continue Reading »

North Carolina State University students, faculty, staff and friends will unveil the new Kay Yow Memorial – dedicated to NC State’s beloved former women’s basketball coach – on Tuesday, Aug. 24 at 3 p.m. Continue Reading »

A North Carolina State University researcher has helped to locate and identify a gene responsible for a fatal neurodegenerative disease that affects American Staffordshire terriers. This same gene may be responsible for a similar rare, fatal disease in humans. Its discovery will lead to improved screening and diagnosis of the disease in dogs and is the first step in working toward a cure for both canines and humans.

Dr. Natasha Olby, associate professor of neurology, was part of a multi-national team of researchers who located the gene responsible for a variant of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCL), a family of diseases that result in mental and motor deterioration – and eventually death – in the dogs.

The team’s results were published in the Aug. 17 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

NCLs, while rare in humans, are most common in children, although an adult-onset form of the disease – known as Kufs’ disease – does occur. In this adult disease, neurons within the brain gradually die, causing loss of vision, epilepsy, dementia and loss of coordination.

Olby saw the first case of a canine version of adult-onset NCL in American Staffordshire terriers in 2000. Over subsequent years, she found that the disease was a widespread and hereditary problem within the breed, affecting one of every 400 registered dogs. The disease kills the neurons in the cerebellum, which controls balance. Over time, the cerebellum shrinks, motor control deteriorates, and the patient dies or is euthanized.

“The disease became so prevalent because it was a recessive disease with a late onset,” says Olby. “Carriers of a single copy of the mutated gene never develop symptoms, and dogs with two copies of the gene might not show symptoms until five or six years of age, so the mutation was able to take hold in the breeding population.”

Through genetic analysis, the research group was able to locate the specific gene – an entirely novel mutation that has not been reported in people. According to Olby, the novel nature of the mutation means that researchers can now test samples from humans with NCL to determine whether this same mutation causes Kufs’ disease in people.

“The canine disease is a good model of the adult human form of the disease,” says Olby. “We hope that this discovery will provide insight into the development of this disease.”

The Department of Clinical Sciences is part of NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

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Note to editors: An abstract of the paper follows

“A canine Arylsulfatase G (ARSG) mutation leading to a sulfatase deficiency is associated with neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis”

Authors: Marie Abitol, Unite Mixte de Recherche 955 de Genetique Fonctionnelle et Medicale, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique; Jean-Laurent Thibaud, United Propre de Recherche de Neurobiologie, Unisersite Paris-Est Ecole Nationale Veterinaire d’Alfort; Natasha Olby, North Carolina State University; et al
Published: Aug. 17, 2010, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Abstract:
Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCLs) represent the most common group of inherited progressive encephalopathies in children. They are characterized by progressive loss of vision, mental and motor deterioration, epileptic seizures, and premature death. Rare adult forms of NCL with late onset are known as Kufs’ disease. Loci underlying these adult forms remain unknown due to the small number of patients and genetic heterogeneity. Here we confirm that a late-onset form of NCL recessively segregates in US and French pedigrees of American Staffordshire Terrier (AST) dogs. Through combined association, linkage, and haplotype analyses, we mapped the disease locus to a single region of canine chromosome 9. We eventually identified a worldwide breed-specific variant in exon 2 of the Arylsulfatase G (ARSG) gene, which causes a p.R99H substitution in the vicinity of the catalytic domain of the enzyme. In transfected cells or leukocytes from affected dogs, the missense change leads to a 75% decrease in sulfatase activity, providing a functional confirmation that the variant might be the NCL-causing mutation. Our results uncover a protein involved in neuronal homeostasis, identify a family of candidate genes to be screened in patients with Kufs’ disease, and suggest that a deficiency in sulfatase is part of the NCL pathogenesis.

Two North Carolina State faculty members have been named Fellows of the American Statistical Association. Statistics professors Dr. Subhashis Ghoshal and Dr. John Monahan were among 53 statisticians worldwide to receive the honor this year. They were recognized at a ceremony on Aug. 3 at the annual association meeting in Vancouver, B.C.

Ghoshal received his bachelor’s degree in statistics in 1988 and his Ph.D. in 1995, both from the Indian Statistical Institute in Calcutta. He joined the NC State faculty in 2001 as an assistant professor, and became a full professor in 2008. Ghoshal received the Sigma Xi scientific research award in 2006, and was elected Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics that same year.

Monahan received his bachelor’s degree in statistics in 1972 and his Ph.D. in 1977, both from Carnegie Mellon University. He joined the NC State faculty in 1978 as an assistant professor of statistics and became a full professor in 1990. He has written two books and published over 35 refereed articles.

The American Statistical Association (ASA), a scientific and educational society founded in Boston in 1839, is the second oldest continuously operating professional society in the United States. The Department of Statistics is part of NC State’s College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.

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