http://newscenter.berkeley.edu News from the University of California, Berkeley Sat, 25 May 2013 00:34:37 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 http://blogs.kqed.org/science/2013/05/22/breast-feeding-neanderthals-would-get-top-marks-from-todays-pediatricians/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=breast-feeding-neanderthals-would-get-top-marks-from-todays-pediatricians http://blogs.kqed.org/science/2013/05/22/breast-feeding-neanderthals-would-get-top-marks-from-todays-pediatricians/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=breast-feeding-neanderthals-would-get-top-marks-from-todays-pediatricians#comments Thu, 23 May 2013 18:20:39 +0000 Public Affairs http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34873 Like all mammals, the Neanderthals breast fed their babies. Scientists wanted to know: For how long? In a new report in Nature, researchers from UC Berkeley and other institutions say the answer can be found in the fossilized tooth of an eight-year old Neanderthal child, discovered in a Belgian cave. KQED's science blog reports.]]> http://blogs.kqed.org/science/2013/05/22/breast-feeding-neanderthals-would-get-top-marks-from-todays-pediatricians/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=breast-feeding-neanderthals-would-get-top-marks-from-todays-pediatricians/feed/ 0 http://uhs.berkeley.edu/home/news/BerkeleySHIPannouncement.shtml http://uhs.berkeley.edu/home/news/BerkeleySHIPannouncement.shtml#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 20:47:51 +0000 Public Affairs http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34700 Chancellor Birgeneau recently announced that Berkeley would leave UC SHIP and return to a campus-based student insurance plan for the next academic year. Details of the campus plan, to be implemented in August, can be found in this post from University Health Services.]]> http://uhs.berkeley.edu/home/news/BerkeleySHIPannouncement.shtml/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/05/14/wireless-signals-for-brain-trauma-diagnostics/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/05/14/wireless-signals-for-brain-trauma-diagnostics/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 21:00:20 +0000 Sarah Yang http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34483 New technology developed at UC Berkeley is using wireless signals to provide real-time, non-invasive diagnoses of brain swelling or bleeding. The device could potentially become a cost-effective tool for medical diagnostics and to triage injuries in areas where access to medical care, especially medical imaging, is limited. ]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/05/14/wireless-signals-for-brain-trauma-diagnostics/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/05/14/racial-segregation-heat-risk-disparity/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/05/14/racial-segregation-heat-risk-disparity/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 07:05:24 +0000 Sarah Yang http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34210 Some racial groups are more likely to bear the brunt of extreme heat waves because of where they live, finds a new UC Berkeley study. The study highlight racial disparities at a time when the frequency and intensity of extreme heat waves is expected to increase with climate change. ]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/05/14/racial-segregation-heat-risk-disparity/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/05/09/howard-hughes-medical-institute-names-three-new-campus-investigators/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/05/09/howard-hughes-medical-institute-names-three-new-campus-investigators/#comments Thu, 09 May 2013 13:00:46 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34475 Three young faculty members - Nicole King, Michael Rape & Russell Vance - have won the most sought-after appointment for a researcher at any American university: as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. The institute will pay their salaries in the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology and provide research funding, freeing them from constant application for federal research grants.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/05/09/howard-hughes-medical-institute-names-three-new-campus-investigators/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/05/08/motion-vision/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/05/08/motion-vision/#comments Wed, 08 May 2013 16:36:15 +0000 Yasmin Anwar http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34352 How does San Francisco Giants slugger Pablo Sandoval swat a 95 mph fastball, or tennis icon Venus Williams see the oncoming ball, let alone return her sister Serena’s 120 mph serves? For the first time, vision scientists at UC Berkeley have pinpointed how the brain tracks fast-moving objects.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/05/08/motion-vision/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/05/02/chancellor-announces-return-to-berkeley-operated-ship/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/05/02/chancellor-announces-return-to-berkeley-operated-ship/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 17:56:35 +0000 Public Affairs http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34592 In response to student urging, the campus will withdraw from the UC-wide student health-insurance plan (UC SHIP) and return to a UC Berkeley-operated plan starting in mid August. Chancellor Birgeneau announced the decision in a May 2 letter to the campus community.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/05/02/chancellor-announces-return-to-berkeley-operated-ship/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/05/02/toxic-metals-in-lipstick/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/05/02/toxic-metals-in-lipstick/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 07:05:56 +0000 Sarah Yang http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34350 UC Berkeley researchers found lead, cadmium, chromium, aluminum and five other metals in a sample of 32 different lipsticks and lip glosses commonly found in drugstores and department stores. Some of the metals were detected at levels that could raise potential health concerns. ]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/05/02/toxic-metals-in-lipstick/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/25/malaria-milestone-took-a-village/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/25/malaria-milestone-took-a-village/#comments Fri, 26 Apr 2013 01:00:35 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34500 On April 25, World Malaria Day, the non-profit Zagaya released a video Illustrating why, in the words of UC Berkeley synthetic biologist Jay Keasling, “it took a village” to create an accessible treatment for malaria that will be essential to eradicating the disease.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/25/malaria-milestone-took-a-village/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/24/fitness-for-all-is-an-exercise-in-inclusion/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/24/fitness-for-all-is-an-exercise-in-inclusion/#comments Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:59:32 +0000 Cathy Cockrell http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=33934 Campus staffer and Cal grad Matt Grigorieff is the driving force behind Fitness for All, a new program that aims to provide health and fitness options to UC Berkeley students with disabilities. Among the first offerings is a class on goalball, a court sport that puts blind and sighted players on a level playing field.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/24/fitness-for-all-is-an-exercise-in-inclusion/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/24/ten-uc-berkeley-faculty-named-to-american-academy-of-arts-sciences/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/24/ten-uc-berkeley-faculty-named-to-american-academy-of-arts-sciences/#comments Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:17:28 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34527 Ten Berkeley professors have been named members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a prestigious 233-year-old honorary society of national leaders from academia, business, public affairs and the humanities.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/24/ten-uc-berkeley-faculty-named-to-american-academy-of-arts-sciences/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/21/brainsearchparty/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/21/brainsearchparty/#comments Sun, 21 Apr 2013 17:00:54 +0000 Yasmin Anwar http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34465 A contact lens on the bathroom floor, an escaped hamster in the backyard, a car key in a bed of gravel: How are we able to focus so sharply to find that proverbial needle in a haystack? UC Berkeley scientists have discovered that when we embark on a targeted search, various visual and non-visual regions of the brain mobilize to track down a person, animal or thing.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/21/brainsearchparty/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/19/cal-day-launched-graduating-seniors-berkeley-experience/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/19/cal-day-launched-graduating-seniors-berkeley-experience/#comments Fri, 19 Apr 2013 08:00:19 +0000 Gretchen Kell http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34484 Senior Ahn-Thi Le's UC Berkeley journey began with Cal Day, when she fell in love with the campus. Now, after following a path that took her to India to work with rural artisans and to a place in the CellScope initiative improving health care in Vietnam, Le is about to graduate.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/19/cal-day-launched-graduating-seniors-berkeley-experience/feed/ 0 http://www.biotech-now.org/environmental-industrial/2013/04/jay-keasling-wins-bios-george-washington-carver-award http://www.biotech-now.org/environmental-industrial/2013/04/jay-keasling-wins-bios-george-washington-carver-award#comments Thu, 18 Apr 2013 22:26:59 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34476 Jay Keasling, a professor of biochemical engineering, associate laboratory director at Berkeley Lab, CEO of the Joint BioEnergy Institute and director of the Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center, is the recipient of the 2013 George Washington Carver Award for innovation in industrial biotechnology. The award is presented annually by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO).]]> http://www.biotech-now.org/environmental-industrial/2013/04/jay-keasling-wins-bios-george-washington-carver-award/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/16/researchers-find-out-why-some-stress-is-good-for-you/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/16/researchers-find-out-why-some-stress-is-good-for-you/#comments Tue, 16 Apr 2013 19:24:50 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34182 Chronic stress is known to cause major health problems, yet acute stress is thought to improve people's performance and health. A new study by UC Berkeley professor Daniela Kaufer shows why that is. Stress generates new nerve cells in the brain that, two weeks later, help people learn better.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/16/researchers-find-out-why-some-stress-is-good-for-you/feed/ 0 http://www.uspto.gov/patents/init_events/patents_for_humanity/awards2013.jsp http://www.uspto.gov/patents/init_events/patents_for_humanity/awards2013.jsp#comments Thu, 11 Apr 2013 21:28:19 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34394 The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office honored UC Berkeley's technology transfer office for its socially responsible licensing to provide low-cost treatments and technologies to people in developing countries, highlighted by the successful licensing of a discovery leading to a newly launched yeast-derived malaria drug. Other projects are nutritionally fortified sorghum & disease-resistant crops.]]> http://www.uspto.gov/patents/init_events/patents_for_humanity/awards2013.jsp/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/11/launch-of-antimalarial-drug-a-triumph-for-uc-berkeley-synthetic-biology/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/11/launch-of-antimalarial-drug-a-triumph-for-uc-berkeley-synthetic-biology/#comments Thu, 11 Apr 2013 11:00:59 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34168 The best therapy today for malaria is a drug combination that includes a derivative of artemisinin, now solely available from plants. On April 11, Sanofi began production of the first semi-synthetic version of artemisinin, derived from yeast developed by biotech company Amyris based on discoveries in the laboratory of Jay Keasling at UC Berkeley.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/11/launch-of-antimalarial-drug-a-triumph-for-uc-berkeley-synthetic-biology/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/10/gold-folder-helps-faculty-and-staff-id-students-in-distress/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/10/gold-folder-helps-faculty-and-staff-id-students-in-distress/#comments Wed, 10 Apr 2013 23:11:51 +0000 Cathy Cockrell http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34388 Faculty and staff at Berkeley now have a quick-reference guide to help them identify signs of an emotionally distressed student and take steps to access appropriate resources. In-person trainings on the new campus resource are set for two dates in April.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/10/gold-folder-helps-faculty-and-staff-id-students-in-distress/feed/ 0 http://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/bakarfellows/beyond-genomics-mining-proteome http://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/bakarfellows/beyond-genomics-mining-proteome#comments Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:09:59 +0000 Public Affairs http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34313 "We need to learn not only what is encoded in the genome – the blueprint of life – but how that actually translates into protein function in health and disease," says Amy Herr, a Berkeley associate professor of bioengineering. Her research is supported by the campus’s Bakar Fellows Program, which helps early-career faculty pursue innovative research with commercial promise.]]> http://vcresearch.berkeley.edu/bakarfellows/beyond-genomics-mining-proteome/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/02/campus-poised-to-join-obamas-brain-initiative/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/02/campus-poised-to-join-obamas-brain-initiative/#comments Tue, 02 Apr 2013 17:40:54 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=34294 President Barack Obama has announced a major national initiative to understand how the brain works and how it goes awry. Neuroscientist John Ngai, chemist Paul Alivisatos and chemical engineer Jay Keasling were on hand at the White House to lend support to the so-called BRAIN initiative, which Ngai termed "our moon project."]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2013/04/02/campus-poised-to-join-obamas-brain-initiative/feed/ 0