Mark Meadows’ departure has opened the door for a unique Republican runoff election in North Carolina's 11th district

While the US presidential primary race is all but over, primary elections for down ballot races continue. Christopher A. Cooper takes a close look at the Republican primary for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District

Primary primers: why North Carolina may be one of the most important states in the 2020 election

While political pundits often focus on well-known swing states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan, North Carolina is often considered to be a red – or Republican – state. Looking at presidential vote share and voter registration data, Christopher Cooper argues that the Tar Heel State is in fact a purple state, and one which could mean the difference between winning or losing a presidential election

North Carolina’s close senate race is a puzzle in a purple state

Many Americans have already begun voting in the 2020 election, not just for president, but for down-ballot races, such as for the US Senate. Chris Cooper looks at the race for North Carolina’s US Senate seat, writing that despite an early durable lead for Democratic challenger, Cal Cunningham, accusations of an extra-marital affair have given incumbent Republican Senator, Thom Tillis, an opportunity to disrupt his opponent’s lead

The 2022 midterms: ahead of North Carolina’s primary, district lines and candidates are set, but the outcome will be anyone’s guess.

Ahead of primary elections in the state on May 17th, Christopher A. Cooper gives an update on how North Carolina’s electoral contests are shaping up. He writes that while the state’s Congressional districts and candidates are now essentially locked in, a crowded field of contenders heading into the primaries makes it difficult to make predictions about where things stand for the November midterms

Proposal for a lunar tunnel-boring machine

A need exists for obtaining a safe and habitable lunar base that is free from the hazards of radiation, temperature gradient, and micrometeorites. A device for excavating lunar material and simultaneously generating living space in the subselenian environment was studied at the conceptual level. Preliminary examinations indicate that a device using a mechanical head to shear its way through the lunar material while creating a rigid ceramic-like lining meets design constraints using existing technology. The Lunar Tunneler is totally automated and guided by a laser communication system. There exists the potential for the excavated lunar material to be used in conjunction with a surface mining process for the purpose of the extraction of oxygen and other elements. Experiments into lunar material excavation and further research into the concept of a mechanical Lunar Tunneler are suggested

Evaluating Outer Segment Length as A Surrogate Measure of Peak Foveal Cone Density

Adaptive optics (AO) imaging tools enable direct visualization of the cone photoreceptor mosaic, which facilitates quantitative measurements such as cone density. However, in many individuals, low image quality or excessive eye movements precludes making such measures. As foveal cone specialization is associated with both increased density and outer segment (OS) elongation, we sought to examine whether OS length could be used as a surrogate measure of foveal cone density. The retinas of 43 subjects (23 normal and 20 albinism; aged 6–67 years) were examined. Peak foveal cone density was measured using confocal adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO), and OS length was measured using optical coherence tomography (OCT) and longitudinal reflectivity profile-based approach. Peak cone density ranged from 29,200 to 214,000 cones/mm2(111,700 ± 46,300 cones/mm2); OS length ranged from 26.3 to 54.5 μm (40.5 ± 7.7 μm). Density was significantly correlated with OS length in albinism (p \u3c 0.0001), but not normals (p = 0.99). A cubic model of density as a function of OS length was created based on histology and optimized to fit the albinism data. The model includes triangular cone packing, a cylindrical OS with a fixed volume of 136.6 μm3, and a ratio of OS to inner segment width that increased linearly with increasing OS length (R2 = 0.72). Normal subjects showed no apparent relationship between cone density and OS length. In the absence of adequate AOSLO imagery, OS length may be used to estimate cone density in patients with albinism. Whether this relationship exists in other patient populations with foveal hypoplasia (e.g., premature birth, aniridia, isolated foveal hypoplasia) remains to be seen

Governors tend to appoint Senators who most resemble voters in the state, rather than ideologues.

For over a century, state governors have had the power to appoint US Senators to vacant seats, a power which runs against the idea of Senators as being democratic representatives. But do governors appoint those with similar ideologies to themselves? In new research which reviewed senate candidates considered by governors to fill vacancies, Christopher Cooper, H. Gibbs Knotts, and Jordan Ragusa find that while they rarely appoint senators from a different party, they tend to skew towards the middle – appointing those who are closest to the ideology of the state’s median voter