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Diversity of Species in North Carolina
North Carolina ranks among the top states in the country for biodiversity. That is, the amount of different living species within a given area. There are many reasons for this, and we're going to discover some of them from the ground up. Literally.
Body On A Chip
Today we'll talk about printing body parts. I'm not talking about antics in the copy room. I mean bio-printing three dimensional human organs for medical research.
There are several types of 3D printers, but the generic model for this particular type involves a nozzle that squirts out a building material like an ink. Mounted in a frame, it moves side to side as well as up and down. This allows for travel to any point within the printer's range; “printing” material layer by layer. The result is an accurate translation of a digital computer file into a solid three dimensional object.
Triad Geology
From a geologic perspective, we don't usually think about the North Carolina Piedmont as being very exciting. There are no tall mountains or volcanoes right nearby.