Mick Kulikowski

Oct 7, 2010

In Plants, Small Changes Make Big Impact

You can’t see them or feel them, but right now countless biochemical interactions in your body affect your life in countless ways. These interactions are important because if they go poorly, really bad things can happen. In a simple and admittedly extreme example, poorly regulated protein interactions – interactions between molecules that are the main… 

Sep 24, 2010

Mimicking Nature, Water-Based ‘Artificial Leaf’ Produces Electricity

A team led by a North Carolina State University researcher has shown that water-gel-based solar devices – “artificial leaves” – can act like solar cells to produce electricity. The findings prove the concept for making solar cells that more closely mimic nature. They also have the potential to be less expensive and more environmentally friendly… 

Sep 23, 2010

NC State Named Southeast Climate Science Hub

North Carolina State University will lead the U.S. Department of the Interior’s new Southeast Climate Science Center. The regional center will  provide scientific research needed to understand more about climate change and use the research to work with natural- and cultural-resource managers to plan for climate-change impacts. 

Sep 22, 2010

Introducing the Superman of Aluminums

It can’t leap tall buildings in a single bound or stop a speeding bullet, but new aluminum material studied at NC State is as strong as steel. NC State’s Dr. Yuntian Zhu, a materials science and engineering professor, worked with a team of researchers across the globe to create an aluminum alloy – a mixture of aluminum… 

Sep 21, 2010

NC State Research Grant Will Help Military Combat Infections

A new $1.8 million grant from the Department of Defense will allow North Carolina State University researchers to work with the Walter Reed Institute of Research to further test the effectiveness of molecules that have shown great promise in combating antibiotic-resistant infections. The two-and-a-half-year project will show the efficacy of molecules created by NC State’s Dr.… 

Sep 8, 2010

Good for Plants, Not So Good for Animals

Nitrates and nitrites, chemicals used primarily in fertilizers, are unrivaled at increasing crop production. Unfortunately, they may also be hazardous to aquatic animals. An NC State study released in PLoS One showed that these chemicals were converted to nitric oxide – a serious toxin – in water fleas, and that water fleas exposed to nitrites showed… 

Sep 8, 2010

Study Shows Nano-Architectured Aluminum Has Steely Strength

A North Carolina State University researcher and colleagues have figured out a way to make an aluminum alloy, or a mixture of aluminum and other elements, just as strong as steel. That’s important, says Dr. Yuntian Zhu, professor of materials science and engineering and the NC State researcher involved in the project, because the search for… 

Sep 2, 2010

NC State Experts Can Discuss Hurricane, Disaster Issues

With Hurricane Earl churning toward North Carolina’s Outer Banks, media looking for information on a variety of hurricane topics can contact the following North Carolina State University experts: Storm Surge and Flood Prediction Marine meteorologist Dr. Lian Xie can discuss research on hurricane formation. Specifically, Xie can talk about hurricane climatology and seasonal prediction; storm… 

Sep 1, 2010

Fertilizer Chemicals Linked To Animal Developmental Woes

Fertilizer chemicals may pose a bigger hazard to the environment – specifically to creatures that live in water – than originally foreseen, according to new research from North Carolina State University toxicologists. 

Aug 12, 2010

Burning Biomass With Coal Could Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Across the Southeast, mixing wood and other forest biomass with coal to create energy can reduce greenhouse gas emissions when compared to just burning coal alone, according to a new working paper by researchers at North Carolina State University and Duke University. “If we look at all the coal-fired boilers in the Southeastern United States… 

Aug 9, 2010

Registration Open for NC State’s Encore Fall Semester Courses, Trips

North Carolina State University’s Encore Program for Lifelong Enrichment, which offers a variety of non-credit programs for adults aged 50 and older, has begun registration for its fall 2010 courses, trips and events, which run from Sept. 8 to Dec. 10. Forty-one short courses and six lectures covering a range of subjects in the liberal… 

Aug 5, 2010

Cataloging Critters

What is an insect museum and why is it important? Find out by checking out our question-and-answer segment with Dr. Andy Deans, NC State assistant professor of entomology and director of the university’s Insect Museum, which lives and grows in Gardner Hall. Responses have been lightly edited for style or clarity. Q. What purpose does the… 

Aug 3, 2010

NC State Gets Grants to Prepare Students for Green Jobs

North Carolina State University received grants totaling $1.7 million from the North Carolina Energy Office to provide undergraduate and graduate students hands-on experience and training for jobs in the state’s energy economy, including “green-energy” fields. 

Jul 16, 2010

Thought for Food

Could perennial grains help feed a burgeoning world population and make the planet safer at the same time? A policy forum paper in the journal Science, titled “Increased Food and Ecosystem Security via Perennial Grains,” co-authored by NC State crop scientist Jim Holland, makes the case in the affirmative. The gist of the paper is that… 

Jul 8, 2010

Researchers Find ‘Key Ingredient’ That Regulates Termite Caste System

A North Carolina State University entomologist has for the first time shown which specific chemicals are used by some termite queens to prevent other termites in the colony from becoming mommies like themselves. In a study published online this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, NC State’s Dr. Ed Vargo and colleagues from…