Carolina
scıentific Mission Statement: Founded in Spring 2008, Carolina Scientific serves to educate undergraduates by focusing on the exciting innovations in science and current research that are taking place at UNCChapel Hill. Carolina Scientific strives to provide a way for students to discover and express their knowledge of new scientific advances, to encourage students to explore and report on the latest scientific research at UNC-Chapel Hill, and to educate and inform readers while promoting interest in science and research.
Letter from the Editor: Science is perhaps the greatest labor of love. Every article in this issue of Carolina Scientific, from the science behind “hanger” (page 30) to a look in the life of a behavioral ecologist (page 24), represents the blood, sweat, and tears of dedicated researchers whose work deserves to be shared with the world. Research can be exhausting and frustrating, but the moment when it works is beautiful. In these pages we celebrate those researchers who work tirelessly so that we may share in their beautiful moments as they aim to make our lives better. You’ll read about the latest in recovery for stroke victims (page 8) as well as blood platelet research, told through the metaphor of a sports car (page 4). We hope you read through these articles and come away with a newfound appreciation for the astounding work being done in the UNC-Chapel Hill community as we did. Enjoy! -Parth Majmudar
on the cover Dr. Reyco Henning is a physicist and member of Project Majorana, a team dedicated to finding the neutrino and its antimatter counterpart. Full story on page 44.
Executive Board Editor-in-Chief Parth Majmudar Managing Editor Tracie Hayes Associate & Copy Editor Ben Penley Associate Editor Kimberly Hii Treasurer Karthika Kandala Design Editors Rachel Quindlen Jui Naik Nirja Sutaria Publicity Chair Jonathan Smith Fundraising Chair Sahana Raghunathan Online Content Managers Tirthna Badhiwala William Howland Faculty Advisor Gidi Shemer, Ph.D. Contributors Staff Writers Copy Staff Ashley Cruz Sarah Dweikat Sara Edwards Suzy Gleaves Hailey Gosnell Callie Hucks Hannah Jaggers Madison Kennedy Margaret McAllister Aakash Mehta Carrinton Merritt Cameron Pharr Allie Piselli Annaleigh Powell Nathan Raynor Nicholas Rewkowski Akshay Sankar Bri Sikorski Elizabeth Smith Jacob Smith Ben Twery Lynde Wangler Jeffrey Young
Design Staff Naomi Breitenfeld Hannah Jaggers Juhee Kim
Illustration by Naomi Breitenfeld.
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Nicole Affleck Misbah Ahmad Ashley Cruz Jason Gershgorn Jie He Shuyan Huang Aakash Mehta Adesh Ranganna Akshay Sankar Ami Shiddapur Patrick Truesdell Ben Twery Wilfred Young
Illustrators Andrew Bauer Naomi Breitenfeld Anja Burjak Alex Cecil Hailey Gosnell Laura Hamon Linnea Lieth Kristen Lospinoso Victoria Long Dave Mossman Megan Perritt Sean Stickel Abbey Vinson Smrithi Valsaraj Carley West May Wang David Wright Julianne Yuziuk