Tracey Peake

Jan 14, 2013

Lack of Protein Sp2 Disrupts Neuron Creation in Brain

A protein known as Sp2 is key to the proper creation of neurons from stem cells, according to researchers at North Carolina State University. Understanding how this protein works could enable scientists to “program” stem cells for regeneration, which has implications for neural therapies. Troy Ghashghaei and Jon Horowitz, both faculty in NC State’s Department of… 

Dec 19, 2012

Visualize This: Inside a Dinosaur’s Brain

Want to know how well a dinosaur could see, hear and smell? Get inside its head! That’s what a group of researchers from the U.K. and U.S. did when they recreated the brain of a therizinosaur called Erlikosaurus andrewsi – a 10-foot-long feathered theropod that lived in what is now Mongolia during the Cretaceous period,… 

Dec 11, 2012

5 Questions With Canopy Meg

Meg Lowman is the director of the Nature Research Center at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences and a research professor at NC State. She has conquered the canopy of the rainforest, and opened up an entirely new world to scientific discovery. She’s just published a textbook that will help future generations of canopy scientists get… 

Dec 10, 2012

Researchers Reveal Structure of Carbon’s ‘Hoyle State’

A North Carolina State University researcher has taken a “snapshot” of the way particles combine to form carbon-12, the element that makes all life on Earth possible.  And the picture looks like a bent arm. Carbon-12 can only exist when three alpha particles, or helium-4 nuclei, combine in a very specific way. This combination is… 

Dec 5, 2012

NC State Tips for Holiday Pet Safety

Winter holidays make the final months of the year special. Ensuring the season is enjoyable for the entire family means keeping your pet’s needs in mind, says Dr. Steve Marks, a clinical associate professor and critical care expert at North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “Like young children, pets can become excitable over… 

Nov 30, 2012

Making Sports Rankings Count

Ever wondered how those sports team rankings get done? Dr. Carl Meyer is a mathematician working on making those rankings more accurate. This video from Inside Science explains how it’s done. Hint: linear algebra is involved. 

Nov 27, 2012

For Some Feathered Dinosaurs, Bigger Not Necessarily Better

Every kid knows that giant carnivores like Tyrannosaurus rex dominated the Cretaceous period, but they weren’t the only big guys in town. Giant plant-eating theropods – close relatives of both T. rex and today’s birds – also lived and thrived alongside their meat-eating cousins. Now researchers have started looking at why dinosaurs that abandoned meat… 

Nov 12, 2012

Pet Rehab: Goat on a Treadmill

It’s not an uncommon story:  A family pet comes down with a serious illness. The pet’s owners pursue treatment and rehabilitation, the pet improves and everyone gets a happy ending. Except in this case the pet is a goat, and the rehabilitation is being done – in part – on an underwater treadmill normally used… 

Nov 2, 2012

Piedrahita to Lead NC State’s Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research

Jorge Piedrahita, a professor of genomics in North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, has been appointed director of the NC State Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research (CCMTR). Piedrahita’s appointment by Dr. Paul Lunn, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, follows a national search. Piedrahita will oversee CCMTR initiatives based on the… 

Oct 29, 2012

NC State Tips for Keeping Pets Safe This Halloween

Halloween is near and Dr. Rita Hanel has timely advice to help pet owners avoid emergency trips to the veterinarian. “Halloween is a fun time for both children and adults with neighborhood trick-or-treating, visitors and parties,” says Hanel, professor of clinical sciences at North Carolina State University and director of the Small Animal Emergency Service… 

Oct 29, 2012

In Particulate Matter, the Particulars Matter

When statisticians start talking about PM, they aren’t referring to political leadership. PM stands for particulate matter, and it’s important because it has a direct effect on the health and well-being of anyone who breathes. Statistician Montserrat Fuentes has built a career on looking at the effects of PM 2.5 (the 2.5 means that the… 

Oct 23, 2012

Analysis of Dinosaur Bone Cells Confirms Ancient Protein Preservation

A team of researchers from North Carolina State University and the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) has found more evidence for the preservation of ancient dinosaur proteins, including reactivity to antibodies that target specific proteins normally found in bone cells of vertebrates. These results further rule out sample contamination, and help solidify the case for… 

Oct 23, 2012

NC State Chancellor Woodson Delivers State of the University Address

North Carolina State University Chancellor Randy Woodson delivered an impassioned state of the university address Tuesday in which he bridged the past and present – celebrating 125 years of impact as a land-grant institution and praising students, faculty and staff for a variety of recent first-time successes. “NC State continues to transform lives on campus, in… 

Oct 22, 2012

Additive Restores Antibiotic Effectiveness Against MRSA

Researchers from North Carolina State University have increased the potency of a compound that reactivates antibiotics against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), an antibiotic-resistant form of Staphylococcus that is notoriously difficult to treat. Their improved compound removes the bacteria’s antibiotic resistance and allows the antibiotic to once again become effective at normal dosage levels. NC State chemist… 

Oct 15, 2012

Probing the Brain’s Chemistry

Our brains are constantly awash in chemicals that serve as messengers, transporting signals from one neuron to another.  It’s a really nifty system, although scientists still aren’t clear on how, exactly, those chemical messages end up being converted into behaviors like kicking a ball or doing really complicated mathematical computations. If scientists could get a…