Science, Etc.
July 2013
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19-Year-Old Researcher is Among Lab's Youngest Scientists

Polite Stewart graduated from high school at the ripe old age of 14, graduated from college with a physics degree at 18, and at 19, has taken a yearlong fellowship at the Lab's Advanced Light Source, gathering synchrotron x-ray data from Beamline 7.3.3. His dream is to go to graduate school in Japan to study physics in a different language. More> 
 
He was also profiled on a local television station. 
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Study Confirms ThirdHand Smoke Causes DNA Damage


A study led by Berkeley Lab researchers has found for the first time that thirdhand smoke -the noxious residue that clings to virtually all surfaces long after the secondhand smoke from a cigarette has cleared out - causes significant genetic damage in human cells. More>
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Lab Scientist Discusses the Physics of Baseball at Actual Cafe on July 25

 

Stop by the Actual Caf� on Thursday, July 25, at 6 p.m. to learn the physics of baseball from Berkeley Lab materials scientist Jim Schuck. The caf� is located at 6334 San Pablo Ave. in Oakland, at the corner of Alcatraz Ave.
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Ancient Roman Concrete is More Durable and Ecological Than Modern Material

 

An international team that includes Berkeley Lab researchers has analyzed samples of Roman concrete from harbor installations that have survived 2,000 years of chemical attack and wave action. Researchers say it's "one of the most durable construction materials on the planet," and "modern cement accounts for seven percent of the carbon dioxide that industry puts into the air." The carbon footprint of Roman concrete, made from lime, volcanic ash, and seawater, is much smaller. More>
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NPR Morning Edition Profiles Keasling and Efforts to Make Fuel From Yeast

 

Jay Keasling (left) of the Joint BioEnergy Institute is profiled for his pioneering work in synthetic biology, developing a technique to manufacture diesel fuel from yeast. Go here to listen to the report.
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Protein 'Traffic Jams' Linked to Malignant Activity in Breast Cancer

 

Jay Groves of the Physical Biosciences Division led a study in which it was demonstrated that the malignant activity of a critical cellular protein system strongly linked to breast cancer, the EphA2/ephrin-A1 complex, can arise from what essentially are protein traffic jams. Using an artificial membrane embedded with gold nanodots, Groves and his team showed that transport of this complex is normal in healthier cell lines but becomes jammed in diseased cell lines, with the worst jamming taking place in the cells that are the most diseased. More>
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New Ribosome Research Could Lead to Better Antibiotics

 

Berkeley Lab scientists have created an atomic-scale structure of a bacterial ribosome attached to a molecule that controls its motion. The image is also a possible roadmap to better antibiotics. Somewhere in its twists and turns could be a weakness that a new antibiotic can target. More>
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The Atlas of Dirt: Stalking the Planet's DNA

 

[Wired] Berkeley Lab's Janet Jansson stocks her fridge with baggies full of dirt. It comes from places as diverse as Antarctic permafrost and Kansas farmland. Her samples are the starting point for the Earth Microbiome Project, an epic effort to figure out how all the world's microbes collectively support life. Problem is the microbes are so interdependent that isolating the most industrious organisms is tricky. So instead the scientists are hunting DNA, isolating all the genes in soil and seawater, regardless of which organism they belong to. The plan is to build a global "gene atlas," then to work out how nutrients and waste products migrate through the ecosystem. More>
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More Fresh Air in Classrooms Means Fewer Absences From School

 

If you suspect that opening windows to let in fresh air might be good for you, a new study by Lab scientists has confirmed your hunch. Analyzing extensive data on ventilation rates collected from more than 150 classrooms in California over two years, the researchers found that bringing classroom ventilation rates up to the state-mandated standard may reduce student absences due to illness by approximately 3.4 percent. With this reduction in student absence, California's school districts would gain $33 million annually in attendance-linked funding and families would avoid an estimated $80 million in caregiver costs due to having a sick child at home. More>
Quick Links
Harnessing the Flow of Data From Fungi
Harnessing the Flow of Data from Fungi at JGI

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Hear Lab researchers define scientific terms in lay language.


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