Tracey Peake

Jul 3, 2012

Dr. Mary Watzin Named Dean of NC State’s College of Natural Resources

Dr. Mary Catherine Watzin, dean of the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont, has been named dean of the College of Natural Resources at North Carolina State University, effective Oct. 15. Provost Warwick Arden announced the appointment today. “I’m very pleased that Dr. Watzin will be joining us to… 

Jun 20, 2012

Shake, Rattle and…

Let’s start by stating the obvious:  being able to predict volcanic eruptions is good.  But not every volcano is going to cause destruction on the scale of Mt. St. Helens or Eyjafjallajokull (say that 3 times fast).  Some volcanoes – like the ones located underneath the sea –can erupt without human beings even noticing. That’s… 

Jun 18, 2012

Got Ticks? There’s an App for that.

We’ve all heard the stories – Mild winter!  Longer tick season!  Disease! Pestilence! Hide your pets and children!  But it’s summer, and at some point you’re most likely going to be out and about amongst the blood-sucking vermin.  And even when you take the recommended precautions – protective clothing, insect repellents, flea and tick treatments… 

Jun 15, 2012

Gayle S. Lanier Named to NC State Board of Trustees

Gayle S. Lanier has been appointed by the UNC Board of Governors to the North Carolina State University Board of Trustees.  She replaces Phil Freelon, who has stepped down due to a U.S. presidential appointment. Lanier works in Raleigh as vice president of corporate services for Progress Energy.  Prior to serving in this role, Lanier… 

Jun 14, 2012

The Strain Remains the Same

Sid Thakur is an expert on the kinds of pathogens that like to make their homes in and around our pig populations. He spends most of his time testing the pigs and their environment, identifying potential dangers such as Campylobacter – a nasty little critter that we definitely don’t want in our food supply, particularly… 

Jun 12, 2012

NC State Announces Spring Graduates, Dean’s List

North Carolina State University Chancellor Randy Woodson announced that 6,961 undergraduate students earned Dean’s List honors at NC State during the spring 2012 semester. To make the Dean’s List, students must earn an academic grade-point average of 3.25 or higher if they are carrying 15 or more hours of coursework, or a 3.5 grade-point average if… 

Jun 11, 2012

Visionary Surgery Aids Elephant

Richard McMullen has just finished the biggest case of his life – literally. On May 31, McMullen successfully completed the second of two cataract surgeries on an elephant named C’sar. C’sar is a 38-year-old African bull elephant who has been in residence at the North Carolina Zoo since 1978. In fact, he was one of… 

Jun 1, 2012

Bartonella: The Epidemic You’ve Never Heard Of, Part 3

This is the final installment of a three-part series on Bartonella, bacteria that are being linked to a wide variety of ailments – many of them chronic, and some of them life-threatening. In part one, we talked about what Bartonella is, and its growing recognition as a potentially wide-ranging and serious infectious disease. Part two… 

May 31, 2012

Bartonella: The Epidemic You’ve Never Heard Of, Part 2

This is the second installment of a three-part series on Bartonella, bacteria that are being linked to a wide variety of ailments – many of them chronic, and some of them life-threatening. In part one, we talked about what Bartonella is, and its growing recognition as a potentially wide-ranging and serious infectious disease. Part two… 

May 30, 2012

Bartonella: The Epidemic You’ve Never Heard Of, Part 1

This is the first installment of a three-part series on Bartonella, bacteria that is being linked to a wide variety of ailments – many of them chronic, and some of them life-threatening. In part one, I’ll talk about what Bartonella is, and its growing recognition as a potentially very serious infectious disease. Part two will… 

May 23, 2012

So You Found a Giant Turtle…

Edwin Cadena is a doctoral student at NC State, a member of the team of paleontologists who discovered the recently named Carbonemys carbonii, a giant freshwater turtle that lived in what is now Colombia 60 million years ago. I asked if he would answer a few questions about the find’s larger implications, and he graciously agreed. … 

May 17, 2012

Ancient Giant Turtle Fossil Revealed

Picture a turtle the size of a Smart car, with a shell large enough to double as a kiddie pool. Paleontologists from North Carolina State University have found just such a specimen – the fossilized remains of a 60-million-year-old South American giant that lived in what is now Colombia. The turtle in question is Carbonemys… 

May 10, 2012

Researchers Use Light to Switch On Gene Expression

Imagine being able to control genetic expression by flipping a light switch. Researchers at North Carolina State University are using light-activated molecules to turn gene expression on and off. Their method enables greater precision when studying gene function, and could lead to targeted therapies for diseases like cancer. Triplex-forming oligonucleotides (TFOs) are commonly used molecules… 

May 9, 2012

NC State to Hold Commencement Ceremony May 12

North Carolina State University will confer more than 5,200 degrees on graduating students during its spring commencement exercise, beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 12, in the PNC Arena in Raleigh. Media coverage is invited. Philip Rivers, quarterback for the San Diego Chargers and NC State alumnus, will deliver the commencement address. Chancellor Randy Woodson will confer… 

May 7, 2012

Cytauxzoonosis on the “Up-Tick”

You may not have heard of Cytauxzoonosis (pronounced Sight-Oh-zO-un-Osis) before, but if you’re a cat owner, you should definitely pay attention now. Cytauxzoonosis is a tick-borne, malaria-like illness that, if left untreated, has an almost 100 percent mortality rate in cats. It is caused by the parasite Cytauxzoon felis, found in ticks carried by host…