Tag:biology

Oct 13, 2014

The Devil’s in the Details: More Research Needed to Address Synthetic Biology Security Concerns

A new paper examines security risks and policy questions related to the growing field of synthetic biology, highlighting significant gaps in our understanding of the nuts and bolts of lab work in synthetic biology that can contribute to securityrisks.

Sep 12, 2014

The Night of the Elephants: Adventures of a Researcher in the Field

Scientists are more likely to have adventures than many people with more mundane jobs. Stephanie Schuttler is a goodexample.

Aug 27, 2014

Three Things You Didn’t Know About the Arachnids That Live on Your Face

Right now, in the general vicinity of your nose, there are at least two species of microscopic mites living in your pores. Scientists have just published a study about these little-knownmites.

Jul 30, 2014

Urbanization: Good for Pests, Bad for Trees

编者按:这篇文章由史蒂夫·弗兰克, an assistant professor of entomology at NC State.The post first appeared on Frank’s blog, Insect Ecology and Integrated Pest Management. My wife is from a neighborhood outside Baltimore called Lawyers Hill. This is where, in the 18th century, lawyers (and I assume doctors and othergentlemen)…

Jul 15, 2014

Cretaceous Cold Case No. 5: When Evidence Dries Up

This is the fifth post in a series called “Cretaceous Cold Cases” in which the science of taphonomy, or prehistoric forensics, is explained by fascinating cases from the files of Terry “Bucky” Gates, a research scientist with NC State and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. South Africa, 250 million years ago. The UnitedStates,145…

Jun 23, 2014

Carnivore Mystery: Why Fishers Thrive in East, Not West

For weasel-like fishers it’s a good time to live in the East. The fierce little carnivores are reclaiming historic habitats, including the Bronx, New York, where police have photographed one fisher. But it’s a different story for fishers in the West, which haven’t been as successful in repopulating areas they once roamed in thePacific…

Jun 6, 2014

What’s the Best Way to Wash Microbes off Your Produce?

Note: This post is part of an ongoing series in which we try to answer questions about the science behind food – from farm to fork. If you have a food-related question, please let me know at matt_shipman@ncsu.edu. Short version: You can use water to wash off your fruits and veggies – but itmay…

Jun 4, 2014

How a Protein “Cancer Cop” Targets UV Damage in DNA

Ah, summer. People are outside enjoying the warm weather, swimming, playing, or just soaking up that glorious, skin-damaging, high-energy UV radiation from the sun. We know that prolonged sun exposure damages skin – the sun is a nuclear reactor, after all. But how does our body respond to and repair this damage at theDNA…

May 15, 2014

Small Number of Genes Have Big Impact on Fish Egg Quality

NC State researchers have taken a big step toward solving a puzzle that has long vexed vertebrates – predicting egg quality, or the viability of embryos in eggs. Using gene expression data and computer modeling, the researchers examined farmed striped bass (Morone saxatilis) and showed that the coordinated interactions of less than 2 percent ofthe…

Apr 8, 2014

Where Credit Is Due: How Acknowledging Expertise Can Help Conservation Efforts

Scientists know that tapping into local expertise is key to conservation efforts aimed at protecting biodiversity – but researchers rarely give credit to these local experts. Now some scientists are saying that’s a problem, both for the local experts and for the science itself. To address the problem, a group of scientists is callingfor…

Mar 13, 2014

What’s Eating You?

It’s a jungle out there. Humans can be infected by more than 1,400 parasites – viruses, bacteria, fungi, etc. It can be bad enough when one nasty parasite takes hold – it’s certainly no fun to be stricken with tuberculosis – but what happens if you have two simultaneous infections? If one infection isdiagnosed…

Mar 11, 2014

Lignin Breakthroughs Serve as GPS for Plant Research

Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed the equivalent of GPS directions for future plant scientists to understand how plants adapt to the environment and to improve plants’ productivity and biofuel potential. Two articles published March 11 in The Plant Cell offer a step-by-step approach for studying plant traits, drawing on comprehensive, quantitativeresearch…

Feb 27, 2014

在相机: Tree-Dwelling Orangutans on Ground

When researchers in Borneo set up camera traps to monitor tropical mammals on the ground, they didn’t expect to be photobombed by orangutans. In the wild, humans rarely see the red apes come down from the trees, says Dr. Rahel Sollmann, an NC State postdoctoral researcher in fisheries and wildlife. Sollmann helped analyze a databaseof…

2014年2月11日

A Wealth of Wildlife, Right in the Backyard

Zoologist Roland Kays travels the world to study rare species, so he calls it a “cool surprise” to find a wealth of wildlife in the suburban backyards of Raleigh and Durham, N.C. “As scientists, we’ve traditionally thought of residential areas as non-habitat,” says Kays, a faculty member at NC State University and the North CarolinaMuseum…

Feb 10, 2014

A Radical Approach to Defense

When are free radicals good for you? When your next door neighbor produces a toxic chemical soup. Behold the lowly marine worm, Amphitrite ornata. It’s red, looks like spaghetti and spends all of its time sifting through seafloor mud for meals. With absolutely zero defensive capabilities, Amphitrite would make an easy target for predators,然而……