Tracey Peake

Oct 29, 2014

Harnessing Crowds to Analyze Clouds

Citizen scientists are helping to categorize 30 years' worth of tropical hurricane and cyclone data. 

Oct 2, 2014

Cheetahs Never Prosper: Energy Expenditure Linked to Population Decline

Cheetahs have a killer commute when traveling to find food. Habitat loss and human involvement, rather than high-speed hunting tactics, appear to be the culprits behind dwindling wild cheetah populations. 

Sep 11, 2014

New Nanomedicine Improves Stem Cell Therapy

A new nanoparticle may help heart attack patients regenerate healthy heart tissue without using donated or processed stem cells. 

Jul 15, 2014

Cretaceous Cold Case No. 5: When Evidence Dries Up

This is the fifth post in a series called “Cretaceous Cold Cases” in which the science of taphonomy, or prehistoric forensics, is explained by fascinating cases from the files of Terry “Bucky” Gates, a research scientist with NC State and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. South Africa, 250 million years ago. The United States,145… 

Jul 3, 2014

NC State Experts Can Discuss Hurricane, Disaster Issues

As hurricane Arthur moves up the coast this weekend, 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… 

Jun 4, 2014

How a Protein “Cancer Cop” Targets UV Damage in DNA

Ah, summer. People are outside enjoying the warm weather, swimming, playing, or just soaking up that glorious, skin-damaging, high-energy UV radiation from the sun. We know that prolonged sun exposure damages skin – the sun is a nuclear reactor, after all. But how does our body respond to and repair this damage at the DNA… 

May 29, 2014

Neural Transplant Reduces Absence Epilepsy Seizures in Mice

New research from North Carolina State University pinpoints the areas of the cerebral cortex that are affected in mice with absence epilepsy and shows that transplanting embryonic neural cells into these areas can alleviate symptoms of the disease by reducing seizure activity. The work may help identify the areas of the human brain affected in… 

May 8, 2014

This Is What Science Looks Like at NC State: Alison Moyer

Editor’s note: This post comes from Alison Moyer, a Ph.D. student in paleontology at NC State. The post is part of an ongoing series that we hope will highlight the diversity of researchers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The series is inspired by the This Is What A Scientist Looks Like site. I’m Alison Moyer,… 

Apr 24, 2014

NC State Hosts Science Olympiad April 26

Approximately 2,000 middle-and high-school students will launch homemade bottle rockets, operate self-made vehicles, and send elastic gliders soaring skyward at the N.C. Science Olympiad State Tournament at North Carolina State University on Saturday, April 26. Media are invited to attend the event, which will be held from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Reynolds Coliseum on… 

Apr 16, 2014

Expect Relatively Quiet Hurricane Season, NC State Researchers Say

The 2014 Atlantic hurricane season will be less active than in the past 20 years, but still in line with overall averages from 1950 to the present, according to researchers at North Carolina State University. Eight to 11 named storms should form in 2014 in the Atlantic basin, which includes the entire Atlantic Ocean, the… 

Apr 13, 2014

Finding the Switch: Researchers Create Roadmap for Gene Expression

In a new study, researchers from North Carolina State University, UNC-Chapel Hill and other institutions have taken the first steps toward creating a roadmap that may help scientists narrow down the genetic cause of numerous diseases. Their work also sheds new light on how heredity and environment can affect gene expression. Pinpointing the genetic causes… 

Apr 11, 2014

Narayan Receives UNC System O. Max Gardner Award

Dr. Jay Narayan, John C. C. Fan Family Distinguished Chair Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at North Carolina State University, is the 2014 recipient of the O. Max Gardner Award – the most significant universitywide honor given to faculty by the University of North Carolina Board of Governors. The award is presented each year… 

Apr 10, 2014

Enzyme ‘Wrench’ Could Be Key to Stronger, More Effective Antibiotics

Builders and factory workers know that getting a job done right requires precision and specialized tools. The same is true when you’re building antibiotic compounds at the molecular level. New findings from North Carolina State University may turn an enzyme that acts as a specialized “wrench” in antibiotic assembly into a set of wrenches that… 

Apr 7, 2014

Organic Solar Cells More Efficient With Molecules Face-to-Face

New research from North Carolina State University and UNC-Chapel Hill reveals that energy is transferred more efficiently inside of complex, three-dimensional organic solar cells when the donor molecules align face-on, rather than edge-on, relative to the acceptor. This finding may aid in the design and manufacture of more efficient and economically viable organic solar cell… 

Apr 2, 2014

Do People and Pigs Share Salmonella Strains?

If antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella is showing up in pigs, then are bacon-loving people also at risk?  In his latest research, NC State population health and pathobiology professor Sid Thakur looks at serotypes, or groups, of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella in people and pigs, to try to determine whether these strains are being passed from pork to people. Sid Thakur…