Mick Kulikowski

May 24, 2011

Hips Take Walking in Stride; Ankles Put Best Foot Forward in Run

In a first-of-its-kind study comparing human walking and running motions – and whether the hips, knees or ankles are the most important power sources for these motions – researchers at North Carolina State University show that the hips generate more of the power when people walk, but the ankles generate more of the power when… 

May 18, 2011

Corn Gene Repels Diseases, or A Dating Game With No Winners

Remember “The Dating Game”? The concept of the show – which first appeared on television in the 1960s – was simple. A woman was separated by partition from three eligible bachelors. She’d ask the men any number of mind-numbing/slightly racy questions and then, based on the quality of the answers, select one of the bachelors… 

May 18, 2011

Lack of Important ‘Gatekeeper’ Protein Linked to Skin Cancer

New research from North Carolina State University shows that a “gatekeeper” protein plays an important role in skin-cancer prevention in humans and lab mice. The protein, C/EBP alpha, is normally abundantly expressed to help protect skin cells from DNA damage when humans are exposed to sunlight. The NC State research shows, however, that the protein is… 

May 10, 2011

Darkness Stifles Reproduction of Surface-Dwelling Fish

There’s a reason to be afraid of the dark. Fish accustomed to living near the light of the water’s surface become proverbial “fish out of water” when they move to dark environments like those found in caves, according to a study from North Carolina State University. In research published this week in Biology Letters, a… 

May 6, 2011

Study: To Be Sustainable, U.S. Agriculture Needs Transformational Push

Improving the sustainability of U.S. agriculture requires broad, transformational shifts in market structure, policy incentives and the type and availability of scientific knowledge, asserts a “Policy Forum” paper in the May 6 edition of the journal Science, co-authored by a horticultural scientist from North Carolina State University. The paper, written by members of a National… 

May 5, 2011

Study Shows Corn Gene Provides Resistance to Multiple Diseases

Researchers at North Carolina State University have found a specific gene in corn that appears to be associated with resistance to three important plant leaf diseases. In a paper published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, NC State  plant pathologists and crop scientists pinpoint the gene – glutathione S-transferase – that seems… 

May 4, 2011

Gould Elected to National Academy of Sciences

Dr. Fred Gould, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Entomology at North Carolina State University, has been elected into the National Academy of Sciences, one of the world’s most important scientific societies. Gould becomes the ninth current NC State faculty member to be elected into the august scientific society. He is one of 72 new members… 

Apr 27, 2011

North Carolina State University Selects Park Scholars

North Carolina State University has selected 45 Park Scholars for fall 2011. The prestigious awards are valued at about $80,000 for North Carolina residents and $136,000 for out-of-state students. Winners were selected from a pool of more than 1,300 highly qualified applicants. Biographies and photos of the Class of 2015 Park Scholars can be accessed… 

Apr 6, 2011

NC State Students Win Udall, Goldwater Scholarships

Two North Carolina State University students are winners of prestigious national undergraduate scholarships. Krystian Kozek of Apex, a junior majoring in materials science and engineering and chemistry, won a Goldwater Scholarship for the 2011-12 academic year. Garik Sadovy of Wake Forest, a junior majoring in materials science and engineering and minoring in environmental science, won… 

Apr 1, 2011

Take It to the Bank

Your NCAA college basketball tournament bracket is most likely, like The Abstract’s, busted. But there’s still a reason – even though it’s baseball season  – to watch the final three games of the tourney. That reason is the bank shot. More specifically, whether that big game-winning or momentum-breaking shot – cue “One Shining Moment” –… 

Mar 18, 2011

NC State Experts Can Discuss Japan Nuclear Crisis

Media looking for information on a variety of topics surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant crisis can contact the following North Carolina State University experts: Nuclear reactor function and physics Nuclear engineer Dr. Paul Turinsky can discuss how a nuclear reactor works and the attempts to prevent reactor meltdown. He can be reached at… 

Mar 16, 2011

Fire It Up

The basketball is in your hands, the score is tied and time's running out. You're about 10 feet away from the basket on the right side of the court, just outside the free-throw lane. Before the clock hits 0:00, check out new research from NC State engineers that shows whether a direct shot or a bank shot has a better chance of scoring your team a postgame victory celebration. 

Mar 14, 2011

Fly Tree of Life Mapped, Adds Big Branch of Evolutionary Knowledge

Calling it the “new periodic table for flies,” researchers at North Carolina State University and collaborators across the globe have mapped the evolutionary history of flies, providing a framework for further comparative studies on the insects that comprise more than 10 percent of all life on Earth. 

Mar 14, 2011

Research Gets Curiouser and Curiouser

Interested in learning more about how ants live in the medians of Manhattan or in Peruvian tree gardens? How about the ways animals and plants move through landscape corridors that surround nuclear weapons sites? If so, you have something in common with Dr. Jai Ranganathan, a conservation biologist who produces “Curiouser and Curiouser” podcasts for… 

Mar 10, 2011

Money in the Bank: Using Backboard Can Pay Off for Basketball Shooters

The basketball is in your hands. The score is tied and there are only a few seconds left on the clock. You have the ball about 10 feet away from the basket on the right side of the court, just outside the free-throw lane. It’s decision time: Is it best to try a direct shot…