Meet the UNC graduate student uncovering the mysteries behind how our brains control movement. Her work studying a rare type of neuron reveals surprising evidence that stimulating these cells not only improves precise movements, but could potentially help restore motor skills after injury.
Continue ReadingIf you’ve ever been lost in an unfamiliar city or tried to walk around in the dark, then you may have found yourself wishing you had the eyes of a…
Continue ReadingOur bodies are marvels of precise control, synchronization and design. Every one of our cells has the same genetic sequence, but we have many different types of cells – heart,…
Continue ReadingT cell-based therapies, or “living drugs” as coined by Dr. Carl June, utilize the potent killing activity of T cells, an arm of the immune system, to target cancers. In…
Continue ReadingThe best models of how our world works are incomplete. Though they accurately describe much of what Mother Nature has thrown at us, models represent just the tip of the full…
Continue ReadingIn almost any field, particularly those in science and engineering, you encounter revolutionary technologies that promise faster, cheaper, and easier processes. Some of these advances, such as computers, social media,…
Continue ReadingOver 200 million years ago, a reptile, 11 feet long and 1500 pounds, was prowling about, likely feeling very pleased with himself. Not only did he have four crunchy creatures…
Continue ReadingMeasuring Chemical Chatter If a brain could talk, what would it say? Probably nothing profound or understandable. Rather, it would emit a bustling clamor of messages between neurons. These messages…
Continue ReadingCongratulations to Dr. Margaret Scarry! A longstanding faculty member of the Anthropology Department at UNC-CH, Dr. Scarry was recently promoted to the Director of the Research Labs of Archaeology (RLA)…
Continue ReadingHalloween is a time of year when we hanker for the horrific, ogle at the ugly, and revel in the rotten. And in this election year, we’re just as likely…
Continue Reading“9-1-1 … Hello! Somebody just collapsed on MLK Road near the Root Cellar café,” said a bystander as he rushed towards the man lying still in the parking lot. A…
Continue ReadingThis summer, an afternoon spent flying kites at the beach will be just another day at work for some researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Now…
Continue ReadingAs a scientist watched jellyfish float in Friday Harbor, Washington, he wondered what caused them to fluoresce green. It took years of determination to unravel the mystery…
Continue ReadingAs many young academics very well know, science can bum you out. Experiments fail, equipment breaks, and funding opportunities are few and far between. Even when experiments run smoothly, the…
Continue ReadingScientists thrive on “aha” moments— breakthroughs in knowledge that come from careful planning or perhaps fortuitous luck. For a team of researchers led by Josh Lawrimore, a fourth-year graduate student…
Continue ReadingAs I enter the Microscopy Services Laboratory (MSL), a soft southern accent greets me: “Come in- want a cucumber? Help yourself!” Dr. Bob Bagnell, the faculty director of the MSL,…
Continue ReadingIt sounds like medicine from a futuristic, sci-fi hospital: nanoparticles that deliver drug therapies and cells that can fight cancer or promote organ regeneration. However, by combining engineering and pharmaceutical…
Continue ReadingIt is well known that the Moon is responsible for the tides on Earth. The effects of the tides at the Earth’s surface are predictable, but the effects of tides…
Continue Reading