Tracey Peake

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… 

Mar 28, 2014

Finding the Mix: Solar Cell Efficiency a Delicate Balance

Research from North Carolina State University reveals that solar cell efficiency is based upon a delicate balance between the size and purity of the interior layers, or domains. These findings may lead to better designs and improved performance in organic solar cells. Polymer-based solar cells are intended to have two domains, consisting of an electron… 

Mar 27, 2014

College of Veterinary Medicine Open House Scheduled for March 29

North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine will host an open house on Saturday, March 29 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The annual event features more than 45 exhibits, special demonstrations, and opportunities to get up close with various animals large and small. This year, attendees will be able to tour the Smithsonian… 

Mar 25, 2014

Lobo’s Hope

It's not every day that a veterinarian runs into an animal like Lobo, a binturong. The tree-dwelling carnivore is native to Southeast Asia, but NC State veterinary medicine students learn to treat him and other wild animals by joining the carnivore team. 

Mar 14, 2014

Veterinary Medicine Open House Scheduled for March 29

What: North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) will host an open house to give the public an insider’s view of transformative animal medicine at one of the nation’s top veterinary colleges. The open house features more than 45 exhibits, special demonstrations, and opportunities to get up close with various animals large and… 

Mar 13, 2014

Researchers Describe Oxygen’s Different Shapes

Oxygen-16, one of the key elements of life on earth, is produced by a series of reactions inside of red giant stars. Now a team of physicists, including one from North Carolina State University, has revealed how the element’s nuclear shape changes depending on its state, even though other attributes such as spin and parity… 

Mar 12, 2014

Countering the Caregiver Placebo Effect

How do you know that your pet is benefiting from its pain medication? A new clinical trial design  could help overcome pet owners’ unconscious observation bias and determine whether the drugs they test are effective. When animals are recruited for clinical trials, particularly for pain medications, researchers must rely on owner observation to determine whether… 

Mar 5, 2014

Pigment or Bacteria? Researchers Re-examine the Idea of ‘Color’ in Fossil Feathers

Paleontologists studying fossilized feathers have proposed that the shapes of certain microscopic structures inside the feathers can tell us the color of ancient birds. But new research from North Carolina State University demonstrates that it is not yet possible to tell if these structures – thought to be melanosomes – are what they seem, or… 

Feb 19, 2014

New Satellite Images Reveal More About Interior Structure of Supernova

A new and powerful satellite has given researchers a way to see into the dark interiors of supernovae. Their observations of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A shed more light on the mechanics of these explosions. “The new Cas A images give us new information about not only the elements that are created in a supernova,…