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Colossal New Predatory Dino Terrorized Early Tyrannosaurs

By Guest PostNovember 24, 2013Nature, Scienceacrocanthosaurus, carcharodontosaur, carnivorous dinosaur, cedar mountain formation, early tyrannosaurs, largest ever discovered, late cretaceous period, lindsay zanno, meeker family, neovenatoridae, new predatory dino, new species, North America, north Carolina, paleontologist, peter makovicky, siats meekerorum, skeleton, small bodied tyrannosaurs, state university, tyrannosaurus rex, utah, ute tribal legend

A new species of carnivorous dinosaur – one of the three largest ever discovered in North America – lived alongside and competed with small-bodied tyrannosaurs 98 million years ago. This newly discovered species, Siats meekerorum, (pronounced see-atch) was the apex predator of its time, and kept tyrannosaurs from assuming top predator roles for millions of years.

Named after a cannibalistic man-eating monster from Ute tribal legend, Siats is a species of carcharodontosaur, a group of giant meat-eaters that includes some of the largest predatory dinosaurs ever discovered. The only other carcharodontosaur known from North America is Acrocanthosaurus, which roamed eastern North America more than 10 million years earlier. Siats is only the second carcharodontosaur ever discovered in North America; Acrocanthosaurus, discovered in 1950, was the first. (more…)

Study Finds Natural Compound Can Be Used for 3-D Printing of Medical Implants

By Guest PostNovember 3, 2013Science3d printing, 3d printing technology, alexander nguyen, anastasia koroleva, biocompatible, chapel hill, laser zentrum hannover, medical implants, natural compound, non toxic polymers, nontoxic, north Carolina, photoreactive liquid precursors, riboflavin, roger narayan, shaun gittard, solid polymer, state university, three-dimensional, university, vitamin b2

Researchers from North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Laser Zentrum Hannover have discovered that a naturally-occurring compound can be incorporated into three-dimensional (3-D) printing processes to create medical implants out of non-toxic polymers. The compound is riboflavin, which is better known as vitamin B2.

“This opens the door to a much wider range of biocompatible implant materials, which can be used to develop customized implant designs using 3-D printing technology,” says Dr. Roger Narayan, senior author of a paper describing the work and a professor in the joint biomedical engineering department at NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill. (more…)

Mosquitofish Genital Shape Linked to Presence of Predators

By Guest PostOctober 29, 2013Scienceblue holes, evolutionary changes, gambusia hubbsi, gambusia predators, justa heinen kay, male bahamas mosquitofish, male genital shape, mosquitofish genital shape, north Carolina, presence of predators, sperm transferring organ, state university, threat of predation

When predators lurk nearby, male Bahamas mosquitofish (Gambusia hubbsi) change mating strategies, rejecting elaborate courting rituals for more frequent and sometimes forceful encounters with females.

But as a recent North Carolina State University study shows, mating strategies aren’t the only things changing for G. hubbsi when predators abound. The shape and size of the male fish’s genitalia are also linked to the presence or absence of predators. (more…)

New Model Should Expedite Development of Temperature-Stable Nano-Alloys

By Guest PostOctober 9, 2013Sciencecarl koch, elevated temperature, hasan kotan, high temperature alloys, lightweight aluminum alloys, model, mostafa saber, nano alloys, nanoscale grain, nanoscale material, north Carolina, nuclear energy applications, ron scattergood, stabilizing agent, state university, temperature stable, theoretical model

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new theoretical model that will speed the development of new nanomaterial alloys that retain their advantageous properties at elevated temperatures.

Nanoscale materials are made up of tiny crystals, or grains, that are less than 100 nanometers in diameter. These materials are of interest to researchers, designers and manufacturers because two materials can have the same chemical composition but very different mechanical properties depending on their grain size. For example, materials with nanoscale grains can be harder and stronger than chemically identical materials with larger grains. (more…)

Scaling Up Personalized Query Results for Next Generation of Search Engines

By Guest PostOctober 2, 2013Technology8gb machine, ambient query context, frequent click pattern, haizhou fu, hyeongsik kim, jaguar speed, jaguar supercomputer, kemafor anyanwu, north Carolina, personalized search results, search engine, state university

North Carolina State University researchers have developed a way for search engines to provide users with more accurate, personalized search results. The challenge in the past has been how to scale this approach up so that it doesn’t consume massive computer resources. Now the researchers have devised a technique for implementing personalized searches that is more than 100 times more efficient than previous approaches.

At issue is how search engines handle complex or confusing queries. For example, if a user is searching for faculty members who do research on financial informatics, that user wants a list of relevant webpages from faculty, not the pages of graduate students mentioning faculty or news stories that use those terms. That’s a complex search. (more…)

New Connection between Stacked Solar Cells Can Handle Energy of 70,000 Suns

By Guest PostSeptember 25, 2013Scienceconversion efficiency, energy, gallium arsenide, geoff bradshaw, heat, jeff harmon, joshua samberg, new technique, north Carolina, photovoltaic energy, salah bedair, solar energy, stacked solar cells, state university, suns, thin film, voltage, wasted energy, zachary carlin

North Carolina State University researchers have come up with a new technique for improving the connections between stacked solar cells, which should improve the overall efficiency of solar energy devices and reduce the cost of solar energy production. The new connections can allow these cells to operate at solar concentrations of 70,000 suns worth of energy without losing much voltage as “wasted energy” or heat.

Stacked solar cells consist of several solar cells that are stacked on top of one another. Stacked cells are currently the most efficient cells on the market, converting up to 45 percent of the solar energy they absorb into electricity. (more…)

Protecting 17 Percent of Earth’s Land May Preserve 67 Percent of Its Plant Species

By Guest PostSeptember 12, 2013Natureafrica, asia, biological diversity, central america, computer algorithms, duke university, earth, ecuador, England, kew, lucas n joppa, Madagascar, microsoft research, new guinea, north Carolina, northern andes, piero visconti, plant species, protecting key regions, royal botanic gardens, spatial database, state university, stuart l pimm, the caribbean

Protecting key regions that comprise just 17 percent of Earth’s land may help preserve more than two-thirds of its plant species, according to a new study by an international team of scientists, including a biologist from North Carolina State University.

The researchers from Duke University, NC State and Microsoft Research used computer algorithms to identify the smallest set of regions worldwide that could contain the largest numbers of plant species. They published their findings in the journal Science. (more…)

Researchers Find New Way to Create ‘Gradients’ for Understanding Molecular Interactions

By Guest PostAugust 16, 2013Sciencealbena ivanisevic, amino acid, biological systems, biomolecular gradients, cell receptors, gradients, human body, indium gallium nitride, indium rich end, ingan, l arginine, lauren bain, ligands, molecular behavior, molecules, new technique, north Carolina, oxide accumulation, peptides, ph level, proteins, salah bedair, semiconductor material, state university, substrate, tania paskova

Scientists use tools called gradients to understand how molecules interact in biological systems. Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new technique for creating biomolecular gradients that is both simpler than existing techniques and that creates additional surface characteristics that allow scientists to monitor other aspects of molecular behavior.

A gradient is a material that has a specific molecule on its surface, with the concentration of the molecule sloping from a high concentration on one end to a low concentration at the other end. The gradient is used not only to determine whether other molecules interact with the molecules on the gradient, but to determine the threshold level at which any interactions take place. (more…)

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