Natural Sciences & Mathematics

Undergraduate research is the star at annual celebration

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Public policy major Aditi Adhikari stands in front of her poster, "Promoting Engagement in a Healthy Masculinity Program for Boys in Rural Nicaragua"

ideas of masculinity. (photo by Kristen Chavez)

Morehead-Cain scholars Aditi Adhikari and Rishika Reddy spent two months in rural Nicaragua last summer working on a curriculum to help young boys develop a healthy idea of masculinity. They were among nearly 200 students presenting their research in poster and panel sessions at the 19th annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research.

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UNC researchers unveil new information about what goes on in the rush-hour-like environment of a living cell

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Distinct protein droplets form with different RNA. The image shows pink and green dots floating around a black space.

New paper in Science shows that RNAs help certain molecules come together in liquid-like protected compartments, information that could have implications for understanding neurodegenerative diseases.

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UNC-Chapel Hill study finds genetic evidence that magnetic navigation guides loggerhead sea turtles home

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Photo of a loggerhead sea turtle on a beach

New research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill provides valuable insight into the navigation and nesting behaviors of loggerhead sea turtles that could inform future conservation efforts. Loggerhead sea turtles that nest on beaches with similar magnetic fields are genetically similar to one another, according to a new study by UNC-Chapel Hill biologists Kenneth J. Lohmann and J. Roger Brothers.

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Carolina biomechanics labs host local students

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Two computer screens side by side read: Celebrating the 21st Century's Breakthrough Science" and "Bio Mechanics Day"

A group of 40 high school students from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics visited several UNC-Chapel Hill biomechanic labs on April 11 to learn more about the emerging field, which uses tools from engineering to understand and improve the structure and function of biological systems.

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Performance and workshop focus on why art matters in medicine

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Artist Marina Tsaplina performs on stage with her puppet.

Performance artist Marina Tsaplina, who has lived with Type 1 diabetes since she was 2, attempted to unpack the question — What does art do, and why does it matter in medicine? — at a recent event at UNC-Chapel Hill.

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200 Years of Carolina Chemistry

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In April, Carolina chemistry will celebrate its 200th birthday. A key secret to reaching this venerable milestone and achieving an international reputation has been to invest in generations of promising young scientists like Bo Li and to provide them with the tools they need to thrive. Today, young scholars continue to work alongside foundational members of the department — people like Royce Murray, who has been on the faculty for 58 years.

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Developing polymers that mimic chameleon skin

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Clockwise, from top left: James Cameron’s "Avatar" character, a thin butterfly cutout of a "PBzMA-bbPDMS-PBzMA" plastomer, a blue poison dart frog and a blue mint beetle.

Biological materials have complex mechanical properties that are difficult to reproduce using synthetic materials. An international team of researchers, led by UNC-Chapel Hill chemist Sergei Sheiko, has produced a biocompatible synthetic material that behaves like biological tissues and changes color when it changes shape — like chameleon skin. The research appears in the March 30 issue of Science.

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UNC startup Ribometrix pioneers new technology to target RNA, unlock new disease therapies

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Kevin Weeks, Kenan Distinguished Professor of Chemistry,co-founded Ribometrix with Katie Warner, a former undergraduate student. (photo by Lars Sahl)

Today, the majority of drugs and pharmaceuticals on the market that treat human disease are designed to target a specific protein. But University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill startup Ribometrix has a very different, revolutionary approach to new drug discovery that’s proving to be a breakthrough in the industry.

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Experiment deep underground is exploring age-old questions about formation of the universe

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UNC-Chapel Hill physics and astronomy professor John Wilkerson installs the germanium detector strings into the cryostat. The machine is part of the MAJORANA Demonstrator, which is used to detect and study neutrinos at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota. Photo by Matthew Kapust

The excess of matter over antimatter is one of the most compelling mysteries in science, according to physicist John Wilkerson at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. If equal amounts of matter and antimatter had formed in the Big Bang more than 13 billion years ago, one should have annihilated the other. Yet

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