Matt Shipman

Jun 15, 2011

Gaming’s Crystal Ball

Video games are more popular than ever. The online role-playing game World of Warcraft (WoW) alone has more than 11 million registered players. And generating new content to keep those players involved can be a challenge. But now NC State researchers have developed a way to predict what players will do next – and that can help video-game designers give the players exactly what they want. 

Jun 15, 2011

What Is 3D Printing? And How Does It Work?

Three-dimensional (3D) printing holds promise for a wide variety of applications, from biomedical implants to space exploration. But when a friend asked me how it worked, I had no idea. It was a perfect excuse to learn something new. And now, dear reader, I can explain it to you. 3D printing is exactly what it… 

Jun 15, 2011

New Sensor To Measure Structural Stresses Can Heal Itself When Broken

Researchers from North Carolina State University have designed a sensor that can measure strain in structural materials and is capable of healing itself – an important advance for collecting data to help us make informed decisions about structural safety in the wake of earthquakes, explosions or other unexpected events. 

Jun 14, 2011

What Gamers Want: Researchers Develop Tool To Predict Player Behavior

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new method that can accurately predict the behavior of players in online role-playing games. The tool could be used by the game industry to develop new game content, or to help steer players to the parts of a game they will enjoy most. 

Jun 9, 2011

More Bad News: Two New Pieces Of Android Malware – Plankton and YZHCSMS

Researchers at NC State have identified two new pieces of Android malware, called Plankton and YZHCSMS. Plankton is extremely stealthy, steals user information and was found in 10 applications on Google’s official Android Market –which have been downloaded more than 210,000 times. YZHCSMS incurs hidden charges on users’ phone bills, and was found in both the… 

Jun 9, 2011

New Parallelization Technique Boosts Our Ability To Model Biological Systems

Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new technique for using multi-core chips more efficiently, significantly enhancing a computer’s ability to build computer models of biological systems. The technique improved the efficiency of algorithms used to build models of biological systems more than seven-fold, creating more realistic models that can account for uncertainty… 

Jun 8, 2011

Brave New Web?

Note: This guest post was written by NC State News Services stalwart, and all-around swell guy, David Hunt. The Internet may seem like a limitless universe of websites, blogs and Facebook pages but it’s actually filling up. Eventually, if people keep adding websites and connecting computers, notebooks, tablets and mobile devices to the Internet, all 4.3… 

Jun 4, 2011

Enter The Hacker: New DroidKungFu Malware Is Bad News For Androids

Computer science researchers at NC State have identified new Android malware, called DroidKungFu, which appears to be able to avoid detection by mobile anti-virus software. The researchers, assistant professor Xuxian Jiang and Ph.D. student Yajin Zhou, have so far identified at least two DroidKungFu-infected applications for Android platforms, which are circulated in more than eight third-party… 

Jun 2, 2011

Using Desire To Be A ‘Good Dad’ To Curb Domestic Violence

A lot of fathers who have battered their partners, and/or their kids, also witnessed domestic violence in their own homes as children. Many of these men want to do a better job as fathers. A pilot study in North Carolina is trying to tap into that desire to be a “good dad” to curb domestic… 

Jun 2, 2011

Safer Sex: Study Examines Sexual Communication In Transgender Community

A new study from North Carolina State University shows that talking about safer sex is a complicated process for individuals in the transgender community. The finding may help efforts to promote safer sex practices in a community facing high HIV rates – and also sheds light on broader questions related to safer sex for everyone. 

Jun 1, 2011

Bad Bugs of Summer: Horse Flies

Mosquitoes and ticks are nasty, but no family of blood feeders can compete with horse flies. They’re the most diverse group of blood-feeding animals on Earth (and, as far as we know, in the entire universe). Whether you call them horse flies, greenheads, deer flies or bloodthirsty so-and-sos, these insects are all part of the… 

May 31, 2011

The Bad Bugs of Summer

To protect yourself from mosquitoes, ticks, black widows and other creepy crawlies this summer, arm yourself with information about why they act the way they do. 

May 31, 2011

Study: Biodegradable Products May Be Bad For The Environment

Research from North Carolina State University shows that so-called biodegradable products are likely doing more harm than good in landfills, because they are releasing a powerful greenhouse gas as they break down. 

May 25, 2011

New Bandwidth Management Techniques Boost Operating Efficiency In Multi-Core Chips

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed two new techniques to help maximize the performance of multi-core computer chips by allowing them to retrieve data more efficiently, which boosts chip performance by 10 to 40 percent. 

May 23, 2011

Bad Bugs of Summer: Black Widows

It’s hard to think of an arthropod with a worse reputation than the black widow. Heck, the term is even used to describe serial killers – and it doesn’t get much worse than that. We’ve already covered mosquitoes, ticks and carpenter bees in our “bad bugs” series, but any conversation about bugs people hate has…