Tag Archives: north Carolina

Researchers Develop New, Less Expensive Nanolithography Technique

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new nanolithography technique that is less expensive than other approaches and can be used to create technologies with biomedical applications.

“Among other things, this type of lithography can be used to manufacture chips for use in biological sensors that can identify target molecules, such as proteins or genetic material associated with specific medical conditions,” says Dr. Albena Ivanisevic, co-author of a paper describing the research. Ivanisevic is an associate professor of materials science and engineering at NC State and associate professor of the joint biomedical engineering program at NC State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Nanolithography is a way of printing patterns at the nanoscale. (more…)

Read More

Analysis of Election Factors Points to Romney Win, University of Colorado Study Says

A University of Colorado analysis of state-by-state factors leading to the Electoral College selection of every U.S. president since 1980 forecasts that the 2012 winner will be Mitt Romney.

The key is the economy, say political science professors Kenneth Bickers of CU-Boulder and Michael Berry of CU Denver. Their prediction model stresses economic data from the 50 states and the District of Columbia, including both state and national unemployment figures as well as changes in real per capita income, among other factors.

“Based on our forecasting model, it becomes clear that the president is in electoral trouble,” said Bickers, also director of the CU in DC Internship Program. (more…)

Read More

Prehistoric Predators with Supersized Teeth Had Beefier Arm Bones

*Combination of colossal canines and forceful forelimbs arose repeatedly over time*

The toothiest prehistoric predators also had beefier arm bones, according to results of a study published today in the journal Paleobiology.

Saber-toothed tigers may come to mind, but these extinct cats weren’t the only animals with fearsome fangs.

Take the false saber-toothed cats–also known as nimravids–and their catlike cousins, a family of carnivores called the barbourofelids. (more…)

Read More

Deforestation Causes Cooling in northern U.S., Canada

Deforestation, considered by scientists to contribute significantly to global warming, has been shown by a Yale-led team to actually cool the local climate in northern latitudes, according to a paper published Nov. 17 in Nature.

“If you cut trees in the boreal region, north of 45 degrees latitude, you have a net cooling effect,” says Xuhui Lee, the study’s principal investigator and professor of meteorology at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. “You release carbon into the atmosphere by cutting down trees, but you increase the albedo effect — the reflection of sunlight.” (more…)

Read More

Charges of Political Corruption Have Little Impact on Voter Opinion

Republican claims of political corruption in North Carolina’s Democratic Party have made little impact on public opinion among potential voters in the state, according to new polling data analyzed by North Carolina State University researchers. The findings show that highlighting actual corruption is not necessarily an effective electoral strategy. (more…)

Read More

Study of Death Penalty in North Carolina Shows That ‘Race Matters’

A new study examining death sentences in North Carolina over a 28-year period ending in 2007 shows that among similar homicides, the odds of a death sentence for those who are suspected of killing whites are approximately three times higher than the odds of a death sentence for those suspected of killing blacks.

(more…)

Read More