News – Do Not Expire
2020 Hurricane Season May Include Up to 19 Storms
June 18, 2020
June 1 marked the start of the 2020 hurricane season — and it’s slated to be an active one. In this Q&A, UNC researcher Rick Luettich talks about this year's above-average hurricane forecast, the impact these storms have on inland populations, and how COVID-19 may affect vulnerable communities.
Second Project Announced Through UNC-Deerfield Partnership
June 11, 2020
In its second funded project, Pinnacle Hill, the research and development partnership between UNC and Deerfield Management Company, will support the development of a potential treatment for Angelman Syndrome, a neuro-genetic disorder that currently has no effective treatment.
In Shutdown, Less Traffic Doesn’t Mean Cleaner Air
June 10, 2020
As of early April, global carbon emissions decreased by 17 percent, in part because the COVID-19 shutdown led to a steep decrease in road and air traffic emissions. But while a drop in air emissions sounds positive, UNC environmental scientist Sarav Arunachalam says the situation is not straightforward.
What a World in Crisis Can Learn from Disaster-Struck Communities
June 1, 2020
How will COVID-19 affect the already vulnerable coastal communities preparing for the 2020 hurricane season? UNC environmental anthropologist Caela O'Connell unwraps this question in her new research project.
Gig Workers Face More Risks than Most During Pandemic
May 26, 2020
UNC sociologist Alexandrea Ravenelle is interviewing 200 precarious workers — gig platform workers, creative freelancers, and essential low-wage workers in drugstores and grocery stores — to uncover how the pandemic is impacting their lives now and, ultimately, in the long term.
Mobile Data Reveals Social Distancing Easier for Healthy and Wealthy
May 21, 2020
In a recent study, UNC epidemiologist Nabarun Dasgupta analyzed location data from 65 million mobile devices to understand the public health impact of social distancing at a county level across the United States.
Inequality Amplifies African Americans’ COVID-19 Risk
May 14, 2020
Recent data shows that minorities are more at risk for contracting COVID-19 and experiencing poor health outcomes. To understand this, Kia Caldwell — a professor in the Department of African, African American, and Diaspora studies — explores how racial disparities, social determinants of health, and health policy determine pandemic outcomes.
Broadband Providers Adjust as Internet Use Spikes Under COVID-19
May 12, 2020
From mid-February to early April, as U.S. jobs and schooling moved online, daily internet usage per household increased by 31 percent. UNC economics professor Jonathan Williams studies how providers have handled this flux and how different demographics have adapted to these education and work transitions.
UNC and NASA Study COVID-19, Protein Correlation
May 8, 2020
UNC biochemist and age researcher Jonathan Schisler is part of the Coronavirus International Research Team, an interdisciplinary research working group formed by NASA to analyze COVID-19 data to address different aspects of the virus.
During a Pandemic, Strong Public Policy Can Save Lives
May 5, 2020
Benjamin Mason Meier is analyzing policies across the globe that are being implemented to halt the spread of COVID-19. He wants to understand what powers governments have to prevent the disease and what policies are working in the disease response.