By Sarah Lowe Herpetology (Noun./ her-peh-TOLLO-jee/) What does it mean? Zoology is the scientific study of animals. Herpetology is a branch of zoology that studies any type of reptile or amphibian, like lizards and frogs. How do I use it in a sentence? Siblings go to the pond every day after school to observe the […]
Escrito y traducido por Regina Fernandez Imagina que acabas de terminar de comer un delicioso Bojangles’ famous chicken ‘n biscuits. Un amigo se sienta enseguida de ti y te ofrece un postre. El postre es un pedazo grande de pastel de chocolate servido con dos bolas de nieve de vainilla. ¡Se ve delicioso! Pero te […]
By Regina Fernandez Imagine you just finished eating some delicious Bojangles’ famous chicken ‘n biscuits. Your friend sits next to you and offers a big piece of chocolate cake with two scoops of vanilla ice cream for dessert. Dessert looks delicious!! But you feel full and you don’t feel like eating anymore food. So, you […]
By Alec Chaves If you’ve been following my previous blog posts, you’ll notice I like to talk about skeletal muscle. This is because, in my opinion, skeletal muscle is the coolest and most fascinating organ to study. Not only do skeletal muscles allow you to move, they also release chemicals called cytokines, which communicate with […]
By Sean Gay Technique Name: Behavior Assays: The Morris Water Maze [Fun] Rating: On a scale from fun and easy like Bill Nye the Science Guy to difficult for Einstein, the technique is….. One Einstein: The results are difficult to interpret. Four Bill Nyes: The actual experiment is easy to perform and generates loads of data. […]
By Riya Gohil You probably think mosquitoes are a nuisance and wish they didn’t exist, but is wiping out whole mosquito populations really a good idea? Earlier this summer, Oxitec, a biotech company, received approval from the EPA to release genetically modified mosquitoes in Florida and Texas. Oxitec aims to reduce disease carrying mosquitoes that cause […]
By Whitney Bell The United States has 62 National Parks. Some of the most famous and most visited include Great Smoky Mountains, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Zion National Parks. Yellowstone National Park, created by President Ulysses Grant in 1872, was the country’s very first national park. National Parks are popular tourist destinations because of their […]
By Zoe Terwilliger Have you ever seen a cat perform some crazy maneuvers or sit in a weird position and wondered, “How do they do that”? Why cats do some of the things they do will always be a mystery to us, but the secret to a cats’ flexibility is all in their anatomy. Like […]
By Emma Goldberg Everyone, young and old, loves Disney movies. And have you ever noticed that some of the most iconic and loved characters talk in an accent? Think of The Little Mermaid’s Sebastian, or Finding Nemo’s Crush! Both of these beloved characters sport their very own accent. Although part of why we love Disney […]
By Whitney Bell Keystone species are like the keystone in a stone archway. The keystone in an archway is responsible for holding all the other stones in place and maintaining the structure, and just like it, keystone species are vital to their ecological communities. Keystone species are plants or animals that are critical for maintaining […]
By Emma Goldberg Scientists around the world are racing to find a cure for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, that has become a global pandemic. Researchers in the US and Belgium may have discovered the key to a cure: a furry, goofy, lovable llama! Meet Winter: a 4-year old, chocolate brown […]
By Zoe Terwilliger Many of us have seen the loveable dik-dik in memes and movies like Madagascar, however they are much more than just an adorable character. While these tiny creatures are similar to the deer we have here in the United States, dik-diks are a type of dwarf antelope. Dwarf antelope are a subfamily […]
By Emma Goldberg When you get hungry, the fridge or the pantry is only steps away. Whales, however, are not so lucky. Weighing between 8,000-300,000+ pounds, these ocean giants don’t have the luxury of storing all of their food in one spot. Instead, different species of whales have developed creative and cool ways to catch […]
By Whitney Bell From Crikey! It’s the Irwins!, to Wild Kratts, to Planet Earth, TV shows and channels like Animal Planet featuring animals are not in short supply. Those of us who were growing up in the mid-90s might remember a PBS TV show called Zoboomafoo which starred brothers Chris and Martin Kratt (the creators […]
By Emma Goldberg Everyone has a favorite color: I like blue, my mom likes purple, my brother likes red and one very special manta ray in the Great Barrier Reef loves neon pink! In fact, this manta ray, named Inspector Clouseau after the well known inspector from the Pink Panther, loves neon pink so much […]
By Lane Scher If you’ve been spending time outside lately, you’ve probably noticed a lot more green over the last few weeks. Maybe you’ve also noticed more birds singing, and if you’re really paying attention, you’ll see different types of birds every couple of days. These are changes that happen every year in the Spring, […]
By Emma Goldberg There are nearly 90 million dogs in the US and each has a unique personality. There is, however, one thing nearly all dogs have in common: if you throw a ball, they will bring it back! We have long believed that the “fetching skill” only existed in modern dogs, but researchers at […]
By Eva Vitucci The horseshoe crab, an animal that’s actually more closely related to sea spiders than sea crabs, has swum through our coastal waters for the past 445 million years – dating them beyond the existence of dinosaurs! While these animals are ancient, they are relatively well-equipped to handle today’s world. In fact, the […]
By Rachel Cherney Immortality is a trait only possible in science fiction and fantasy. However, with scientific and medical advancements, humans are able to live well past 100 years, the oldest undisputed* human to live was Sarah Knauss of the United States who died at 119 years, 97 days old. *There was a woman who […]
By Emma Joy Goldberg Today’s top pop music charts include tracks from Ariana Grande, Post Malone, Harry Styles and Billie Eilish. But what if I told you that just like humans, humpback whales have their own top hits? Yes, you read that correctly! Male humpback whales have been dubbed the “serenaders of the sea” and […]
With summer fast approaching and many people heading to the beach, we thought it would be a good time to revisit some recent shark discoveries. This post was originally published on February 9, 2017. By Michelle Engle In the past few months, scientists have made some amazing discoveries about sharks. Let’s dive into the new […]
By Allyson Roberts While watching the news, reading the paper, or even checking your favorite social media sites, occasionally we stumble across stories about discoveries scientists have made related to how genes contribute to obesity, or how scientists have discovered a cure for Ebola virus. These findings are important for human health, but if you […]
********** The NC DNA Day CONNECT blog is back! We’re excited for another year of sharing exciting science news and interesting research going on here in North Carolina and around the world. We will have a new post each Thursday, so make sure to check back every week! ********** By Michelle Engle The phrases “laboratory animals”, […]
By Michelle Engle In the past few months, scientists have made some amazing discoveries about sharks. Let’s dive into the new research and what it means for sharks and scientists. In August 2016, a group of Danish scientists published a report in Science that radiocarbon dating had allowed them to investigate the lifespan of the […]
By Michelle Engle Some non-believers among you may say that Rudolph is nothing more than a fairy tale, that it’s impossible for a reindeer to have a glowing red nose. To those of you, I have this to say: it’s not magic, it’s science! Allow me to present evidence to support my hypothesis. Fluorescent, or […]
By Kelsey Gray Edited by Mike Pablo and Anna Chiarella Communication is essential for surviving and thriving in our daily lives. We communicate with others all the time. Maybe you enjoy talking about books, shopping, writing, video games, traveling? Perhaps you prefer topics such as exercise, studying, sports, relationships, or other hobbies, such as playing […]
By Sarah Marks Edited by Kelsey Gray and Sam Stadmiller The internet is full of cats. They’re cute, they’re aloof, and apparently really bad at spelling. Some of the most recognizable cats on the internet, after Grumpy Cat, are Siamese cats. Their distinct coloring (dark ears, face, feet, and tail on a pale body), called point coloration, […]