biological sciences

close image of police tape stretched in front of a section of green space

Mar 16, 2023

Forensic Study Sheds Light on the Remains of Infants, Children

The findings will help forensic scientists determine how long a young person’s remains were at a particular location.

Pie chart reflects the following text: Fewer than three of the 1,000+ pages in a typical biology text book address climate change. Coverage of solutions has declined by 80% in recent decades.

Dec 21, 2022

Climate Impacts Are Increasing; Textbooks Aren’t Keeping Pace

Biology textbooks are failing to share adequate information about climate change, which is a generation-defining topic in the life sciences.

Nov 11, 2022

Wastewater, Syndromic COVID-19 Surveillance Are Important Pieces of COVID-Monitoring Toolkit

Wastewater and syndromic surveillance monitoring are useful complements to lab-confirmed case surveillance during a pandemic.

Campus gateway sign reading NC State University

Oct 24, 2022

Gestational Exposure to Flame Retardant Alters Brain Development in Rats

Exposure in utero to a common flame retardant altered brain development in newborn rats.

lifelike sculpture of a powerfully built neandertal man with a broad brow, brown hair and beard

Aug 23, 2022

Study of Ancient Skulls Sheds Light on Human Interbreeding With Neandertals

The study supports the hypothesis that much of this interbreeding took place in the region ranging from North Africa to Iraq.

Aug 15, 2022

Statistical Tool Finds ‘Gaps’ in DNA Data Sets Shouldn’t Be Ignored

A simple statistical test could help evolutionary biologists avoid bias in analyses.

Apr 12, 2022

Two Sets of Sex Chromosomes Determine More Than Just Sex

Researchers look to an African cichlid to understand the impacts of two sets of sex chromosomes on a species.

three images capture beetle larvae at various stages of jumping; a fourth image shows the trajectory of a larva's leap

Jan 19, 2022

Scientists Find Previously Unknown Jumping Behavior in Insects

There is evidence that this jumping behavior is occurring in a range of species – we just haven’t noticed it before.

a human skull rests on a glossy black surface in front of a black background

Jan 4, 2022

Forensic Researchers Call for Proactive Efforts to Address Racism

The call responds to issues of systemic racism highlighted by the BLM movement.

Skulls of a baboon and howler monkey with the teeth "digitally dissected."

Oct 26, 2021

What Big Teeth You Have: Tooth Root Surface Area Can Determine Primate Size

A formula that calculates primate body size from tooth root size could help us learn how human ancestors interacted with their environment.

a camera is filming a scientist talking about her work; the scientist is also visible in the viewfinder of the camera

Oct 13, 2021

Scientists Seen as Trustworthy Experts When Sharing Their Work in Online Videos

Viewers responding positively to researchers who present their own work.

two skulls rest on a table in the research lab of forensic anthropologist Ann Ross

Jul 14, 2021

Study: Let’s Replace ‘Ancestry’ in Forensics With Something More Accurate

The study highlights flaws in existing approaches to assessing and discussing ancestral origin.

May 21, 2021

Forensic Lab To Work With National Missing and Unidentified Persons System

NC State will help to bring closure to cases around the country.

Feb 15, 2021

Researchers Demonstrate Self-Sterilizing Polymers Work Against SARS-CoV-2

Researchers have demonstrated a family of self-sterilizing polymers that are effective at inactivating the virus that causes COVID-19.

An illustration by the CDC shows ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses.

Nov 10, 2020

NC State Researchers Take On COVID-19

While COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, has brought much of the world to a standstill, it hasn’t stopped research at NC State. Faculty and the staff at the university have pivoted from their customary research to study COVID-19, using their expertise in battling the pandemic. Their research has covered a large scope, from how the…