My lab group looks at small stuff–for example, our organisms of choice are microscopic, single-celled plantlike creatures called diatoms. But because gosh darn it that just ain’t small enough, we like to look at the genetic machinery (DNA, RNA, all that jazz) inside those organisms. So a lot of our time is spent in the … Continue reading
The International Coral Reef Initiative recently released a report detailing the status of Caribbean coral reefs from 1970-2012. Based on data from 88 location around the Caribbean, the report found that average coral cover declined by over 50% while algal cover is over three times higher. This pair of opposite trends is called a “phase-shift” where the … Continue reading
Everyone seems to enjoy imagining what it must be like to have starfish’s limb regeneration capabilities: see earlier post here. But a mystery disease that causes a sea star’s arms to crawl away from each other until the star is literally ripped apart has been increasing in prevalence over the last several years: this video … Continue reading
A really informative imagination of what developing a tidal energy farm would look like. The concept in this video is actually a little revolutionary when compared with their cousins, wind turbines. These tidal turbines are capable of harvesting the energy from tidal currents in both directions as they ebb and flood, in a fairly linear … Continue reading
Today I have for you the second part of our inaugural podcast, all about the wonderful world of diatoms! In this half of our podcast, I talk with Natalie Cohen and Carly Moreno, two of the other graduate students in my lab at UNC-Chapel Hill. Topics range from what it’s like to go on a … Continue reading
Things have been a little slow as we ease into summer schedules here at UNdertheC, but check back next week as we resume our regular posting schedule! Until then, today’s Film Friday ushers in the first official beach weekend of the year with a neat infographics video about oyster restoration. The video, made by a … Continue reading
Here’s some raw footage of one of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) buoy deployments last week. This buoy (and one other just to its north) is managed by UNC Chapel Hill’s marine science department. That’s us! NOAA and the National Weather Service (NWS) are government agencies that monitor and research weather, climatological, and environmental … Continue reading
Today I have something a little different to share–my first ever podcast! It’s diatom-themed (of course) and in it I discuss what diatoms are, what it’s like to research them, and why you should care about them in the first place. I’m far more used to writing blog posts than creating something audio-based, so this … Continue reading
With finals week upon us, all those affiliated with a university may be feeling a little exhausted at the moment. If the internet has taught us anything though, it’s that there’s nothing like a fun animal video to lift your spirits/help you procrastinate. This clip combines the improbably buoyant sunfish with a little inspiration as … Continue reading
Happy Film Friday! Some of the other UNdertheC bloggers and I have been taking a science communication class at UNC this semester. For our final project, we had to explain our research topics using a form of communication that was new to us. For my project, I chose to make a YouTube video explaining the … Continue reading
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