health and well-being

Oct 24, 2014

Trick or Treat or Barf: Researchers Use Social Media to Raise Awareness of Norovirus Season

NC State researchers are trying to raise awareness of norovirus safety through a novel (and cute) social media campaign. 

Oct 3, 2014

Coating Nanotubes With Aluminum Oxide Lowers Risk of Lung Injury

A new study finds that coating multiwalled carbon nanotubes with aluminum oxide reduces the risk of lung scarring, or pulmonary fibrosis, in mice. 

Sep 24, 2014

Engineering a Better Food Bank

How an NC State engineering professor is helping food banks help those in need. 

Sep 23, 2014

Fast Facts About Cutting Boards and Food Safety in Your Kitchen

Anything that touches your food can be a source of contamination and foodborne illness – including cutting boards. Learn what you can do to limit the risk of foodborne illness. 

Sep 8, 2014

Helping Keep School Lunches Safe

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Ellen Thomas, a Ph.D candidate in NC State’s Department of Food Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences. This post also appears on the food safety blog barfblog.com. In 2006, an E. coli O157:H7 outbreak associated with bagged spinach resulted in 205 illnesses and three deaths. Investigators cited many factors, including… 

Aug 4, 2014

Researchers Develop Food Safety Social Media Guide

To help protect public health, researchers from North Carolina State University have developed guidelines on how to use social media to communicate effectively about food safety. 

Jul 28, 2014

Motivation May Explain Disconnect Between Cognitive Testing and Real-Life Functioning for Older Adults

A psychology researcher at North Carolina State University is proposing a new theory to explain why older adults show declining cognitive ability with age, but don’t necessarily show declines in the workplace or daily life. One key appears to be how motivated older adults are to maintain focus on cognitive tasks. 

May 29, 2014

Neural Transplant Reduces Absence Epilepsy Seizures in Mice

New research from North Carolina State University pinpoints the areas of the cerebral cortex that are affected in mice with absence epilepsy and shows that transplanting embryonic neural cells into these areas can alleviate symptoms of the disease by reducing seizure activity. The work may help identify the areas of the human brain affected in… 

May 28, 2014

‘Nanodaisies’ Deliver Drug Cocktail to Cancer Cells

Biomedical engineering researchers have developed daisy-shaped, nanoscale structures that are made predominantly of anti-cancer drugs and are capable of introducing a “cocktail” of multiple drugs into cancer cells. The researchers are all part the joint biomedical engineering program at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

May 9, 2014

New Method Sneaks Drugs Into Cancer Cells Before Triggering Release

Biomedical engineering researchers have developed an anti-cancer drug delivery method that essentially smuggles the drug into a cancer cell before triggering its release. The method can be likened to keeping a cancer-killing bomb and its detonator separate until they are inside a cancer cell, where they then combine to destroy the cell. 

Apr 24, 2014

New Ultrasound Device May Aid in Detecting Risk for Heart Attack, Stroke

Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed an ultrasound device that could help identify arterial plaque that is at high risk of breaking off and causing heart attack or stroke. 

Apr 14, 2014

Study Links Domestic Abuse to Mental Health Problems in New Mothers

A new study shows that domestic abuse is closely linked to postpartum mental health problems, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), in mothers. The research also found that specific types of abuse are associated with specific mental health problems. The work was done by researchers at North Carolina State University, Simon Fraser University and… 

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 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… 

Mar 18, 2014

Researchers Devise New, Stretchable Antenna for Wearable Health Monitoring

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new, stretchable antenna that can be incorporated into wearable technologies, such as health monitoring devices.