General News
A leopard may not change its spots but venomous creatures change their venom recipe often
Darwinism at work, as sea anemones adapt their venom to accommodate changing prey and sea conditions For a long time scientists believed that an animal’s venom was consistent over time. However, through a close study of sea anemones, researchers found that animals change their venom several times over the course of a lifetime, adapting the […]
“Virus Tracking” University of North Carolina Television (WUNC, a PBS affiliate)
CHARLOTTE — Scientists have confirmed the Zika virus is spread through bites from mosquitos of the aedes (a-deez) species: the same mosquitoes that spread dengue fever. But just how does the bite of a mosquito, which doesn’t fly very far, create a worldwide epidemic? Daniel Janies, Ph.D., a professor of Bioinformatics and Genomics at the […]
Mapping Frog, Newt Genomes for Medical Discovery
The golden poison dart frog (Phylobates terribilis) is one of the most toxic animals in the world. The frogs, which measure only five centimeters, have enough poison to kill ten grown men. The toxin in these frogs is so effective, explains Denis Machado, a doctoral student from the Inter-units Graduate Program in Bioinformatics at the […]
Guest Speakers: Medical, Biomedical, & Biodefense: Support to the Warfighter Symposium
The Offices of United States Senator Richard Burr and United States Senator Thom Tillis, the North Carolina Military Business Center, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, the North Carolina Military Foundation and the University of North Carolina are pleased to host the Medical, Biomedical & Biodefense: Support to the Warfighter Symposium on June 7 in Raleigh […]
UNC system video features Big Data
Mirsad Hadzikadic, along with collaborators at N.C. State and UNC Chapel Hill, are interviewed for the UNC ROI video “Building Big Data Infrastructure.” UNC system video features Big Data
Mutations acquired trans-Pacific may be key to changes in Zika severity
The Zika virus remains a mystery. Isolated from macaque monkeys in the Ziika Forest in Uganda in 1947, the virus was shown to infect humans not long after, but it was identified as a benign disease, with mild symptoms. For this reason, it was not heavily studied until almost 70 years later when it appeared […]
Zika vírus: benigno ou perigoso dependendo de onde vem
O Zika vírus continua um mistério. Isolado em macacos da floresta Ziika em Uganda em 1947, o vírus se mostrou infeccioso para humanos não muito após esta época. No entanto, foi identificado como uma doença benigna com sintomas leves. Por esta razão, não foi fortemente estudado até praticamente 70 anos após a sua descoberta, quando […]
Going Un-Viral: UNC Charlotte creating data tools to help Department of Defense track pathogen migrations
In combating international threats to public health such as the Zika virus, data could be the most important weapon in the arsenal. Several U.S. Department of Defense agencies, including the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, are working with the University of North Carolina at Charlotte on new data analysis tools created by the […]
Student-Led Mosquito Project Collaborates on Public Health Research
As temperatures spike each spring, mosquitos start to swarm. They bring with them an increased risk of mosquito-borne diseases and a need to understand how to guard against these pesky – and at times dangerous – insects. Researchers at UNC Charlotte and the Mecklenburg County Health Department are collaborating on a study to determine which […]
Preparations underway in Mecklenburg County to prevent Zika
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mecklenburg County is already talking about ways to prevent the spread of mosquitoes this summer. Last year, almost every state in the U.S., including the Carolinas, reported travel-related cases, and millions of dollars were pouring into tackling the problem. In September, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released guidelines for pregnancy […]