Science & Technology

A Duke University faculty member has won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Doctor Robert Lefkowicz is a researcher and faculty member at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Duke University Medical Center.

The Nobel Committee made the announcement earlier this morning. Lefkowicz said on the phone during the announcement that the middle-of-the-night call was unexpected.

Dr. Robert Lefkowicz: And so my wife gave me an elbow. Call for you. And there it was, a total shock and surprise.

An “Ag-Biotech Summit” gets underway in Raleigh today.  It’s the first gathering of its kind in the state.  It will focus on shaping a new “bio-economy.”

Leoneda Inge:  Gwyn Riddick is the Vice-President of Ag-Biotech at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.  He says Agriculture and Biotechnology are the state’s biggest industries.

Gwyn Riddick:  Agriculture which is considered to be around $71-billion dollars, that’s with a “B.” And then Biotechnology, at $64-billion.

Raleigh TV station WRAL is working on technology that would get emergency messages to you -- wherever you are.

Gurnal Scott: You're familiar with the Emergency Alert System messages on TV and radio.

EAS Test: This is only a test.

WRAL says mobile EAS messages can be sent to hand-held devices with a chip that can pick up TV signals. Steve Hammel is the station's Vice President and General manager.

A North Carolina research firm says it's taken a significant step toward making solar energy a widely-marketable source of electricity. RTI International says its new solar cells use an ink-like material produced at much lower cost than traditional silicon panels. Jay Lewis is a senior research scientist with the RTP nonprofit.

N-C State researchers are looking at whether livestock production can keep up with the global demand.

The N-C State panel looked at what it will take to meet demand for meat, dairy and eggs as the world population grows.

"Double animal agriculture production over the next few decades, " said Kelly Zering, the professor who led the study. He says research shows it can be done.

UNC-Chapel Hill researchers are working to make it easier for hydrologists to share data on problems facing the world's water supply. The project is being funded by the National Science Foundation. Ray Idaszak works for the Renaissance Computing Institute at the university. He says his team is working to create the high-tech infrastructure to allow scientists to see and comment on each other's work.