http://newscenter.berkeley.edu News from the University of California, Berkeley Tue, 15 May 2012 23:07:32 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/05/10/archaeologist-crawford-greenwalt-dies/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/05/10/archaeologist-crawford-greenwalt-dies/#comments Thu, 10 May 2012 21:30:10 +0000 Kathleen Maclay http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=29938 Exploring the history and culture of the ancient city of Sardis in Turkey was a passion of classical archaeologist Crawford H. Greenewalt, Jr., who died on May 4.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/05/10/archaeologist-crawford-greenwalt-dies/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/05/03/scientists-core-into-clear-lake-to-explore-past-climate-change/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/05/03/scientists-core-into-clear-lake-to-explore-past-climate-change/#comments Thu, 03 May 2012 16:15:08 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=23523 One of the oldest lakes in the world, Clear Lake has deep sediments that contain a record of the climate and local plants and animals going back perhaps 500,000 years. UC Berkeley scientists are drilling cores from the sediments to explore this history and fine-tune models for predicting the fate of today's flora and fauna in the face of global warming and pressure from a growing human population.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/05/03/scientists-core-into-clear-lake-to-explore-past-climate-change/feed/ 0 http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/robotics-hardware/african-robotics-network http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/robotics-hardware/african-robotics-network#comments Wed, 02 May 2012 17:55:20 +0000 Carol Ness http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=29632 Roboticists in Ghana and at UC Berkeley this week launched AFRON, the African Robotics Network, an initiative to enhance robotics education, research and industry in Africa. Co-founder is professor Ken Goldberg, a fellow with IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers).]]> http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/robotics-hardware/african-robotics-network/feed/ 0 http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/news/2012/05/fattyliver_disease_breakthroug.php#more http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/news/2012/05/fattyliver_disease_breakthroug.php#more#comments Wed, 02 May 2012 17:17:32 +0000 Carol Ness http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=29627 Two types of naturally produced substances — one of them a bear bile acid — reduce the uptake of fat by the liver, opening the door to the development of new treatments for fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes, according to a new study by researchers at UC Berkeley. ]]> http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/news/2012/05/fattyliver_disease_breakthroug.php#more/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/05/01/four-uc-berkeley-scientists-elected-to-national-academy-of-sciences/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/05/01/four-uc-berkeley-scientists-elected-to-national-academy-of-sciences/#comments Tue, 01 May 2012 19:10:47 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=29561 Four University of California, Berkeley, faculty members – physicists John Clarke and Bernard Sadoulet, chemist John Hartwig and ecologist Mary Power – have been elected members or foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences, bringing UC Berkeley's total NAS membership to 141.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/05/01/four-uc-berkeley-scientists-elected-to-national-academy-of-sciences/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/05/01/qa-with-richard-karp/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/05/01/qa-with-richard-karp/#comments Tue, 01 May 2012 16:24:01 +0000 Public Affairs http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=29534 Establishing a new research institute at a top-tier university is a major undertaking that required a great deal of teamwork to pull off. In a recent interview, Richard Karp, founding director of the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing, gave the inside story on how it all came together.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/05/01/qa-with-richard-karp/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/05/01/simons-institute-for-the-theory-of-computing/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/05/01/simons-institute-for-the-theory-of-computing/#comments Tue, 01 May 2012 12:00:11 +0000 Sarah Yang http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=27377 The Simons Foundation has awarded a landmark $60 million grant to UC Berkeley to establish a theory of computing institute that promises to catalyze new advances in broad disciplines that affect our everyday lives, from how we spend our money to how we fight disease. ]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/05/01/simons-institute-for-the-theory-of-computing/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/30/field-trip-podcast/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/30/field-trip-podcast/#comments Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:38:04 +0000 Barry Bergman http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=24525 Journalism chops, media savvy, nerdiness and (especially) curiosity add up to the "Field Trip Podcast," a radio program created by a trio of J-School grads, and returning soon to a computer or smartphone near you.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/30/field-trip-podcast/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/30/persons-of-interest-patty-garcia/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/30/persons-of-interest-patty-garcia/#comments Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:27:00 +0000 Roibín Ó hÉochaidh http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=27680 Persons of Interest: Immunology grad student Patty Garcia chips away at the barriers that divide science and society, while puzzling out the molecular mechanics of cancer.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/30/persons-of-interest-patty-garcia/feed/ 0 http://www.sfsu.edu/~news/prsrelea/fy12/039.html http://www.sfsu.edu/~news/prsrelea/fy12/039.html#comments Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:16:05 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=29234 UC Berkeley ecologist Jamie Voyles and SF State professor Vance Vredenburg took blood samples from frogs in the Sierra Nevada to track the spread of the deadly chytrid fungus. They found that the fungus disrupts fluid and electrolyte balance in wild frogs, severely depleting the frogs’ sodium and potassium levels and causing cardiac arrest and death.]]> http://www.sfsu.edu/~news/prsrelea/fy12/039.html/feed/ 0 http://ourenvironment.berkeley.edu/2012/04/our-environment-enews-spring-2012-earth-day/ http://ourenvironment.berkeley.edu/2012/04/our-environment-enews-spring-2012-earth-day/#comments Fri, 20 Apr 2012 18:04:37 +0000 Carol Ness http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=28832 In honor of Earth Day today, UC Berkeley professor Ron Amundson, a soil scientist and chair of the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, was able to obtain an exclusive interview with our home planet.]]> http://ourenvironment.berkeley.edu/2012/04/our-environment-enews-spring-2012-earth-day/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.lbl.gov/news-releases/2012/04/18/icecube-grb-cosmic-rays/ http://newscenter.lbl.gov/news-releases/2012/04/18/icecube-grb-cosmic-rays/#comments Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:56:23 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=28758 UC Berkeley physicist Buford Price and eight students and post-docs are part of the IceCube collaboration conducting cosmic ray research at the South Pole. Preliminary results from the cubic-kilometer IceCube observatory offer a surprise: higher energy cosmic rays probably do not originate from gamma-ray bursts, as most astronomers thought.]]> http://newscenter.lbl.gov/news-releases/2012/04/18/icecube-grb-cosmic-rays/feed/ 0 http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/news/2012/04/history_is_key_factor_in_plant.php#more http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/news/2012/04/history_is_key_factor_in_plant.php#more#comments Wed, 18 Apr 2012 22:45:10 +0000 Sarah Yang http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=28749 When assessing the virulence of plant-borne diseases, knowing the pathogen's recent travel history may be just as important as identifying its particular strain, according to new research results by researchers at UC Berkeley, UC Davis and the USDA Agricultural Research Service. ]]> http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/news/2012/04/history_is_key_factor_in_plant.php#more/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/17/four-faculty-members-elected-to-american-academy-of-arts-and-sciences/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/17/four-faculty-members-elected-to-american-academy-of-arts-and-sciences/#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:48:52 +0000 Public Affairs http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=28579 Four UC Berkeley faculty members – a pioneer in photonic crystals, a dark matter astrophysicist, a specialist in nanowires and an expert on molecular machines – are among 220 new members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/17/four-faculty-members-elected-to-american-academy-of-arts-and-sciences/feed/ 0 http://www.insidescience.org/television/1-2594 http://www.insidescience.org/television/1-2594#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:30:20 +0000 Roxanne Makasdjian http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=28494 Using high resolution satellite imagery, scientists at UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory are learning more about how the aurora borealis, or the "Northern Lights," move across the sky. SSL physicist Chris Chaston tells Inside Science TV that, because of increasing activity on the sun, next year the colorful light show may be visible as far south as Minnesota.]]> http://www.insidescience.org/television/1-2594/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/16/aspiring-oral-surgeon-works-to-supersize-smiles-for-poor-children/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/16/aspiring-oral-surgeon-works-to-supersize-smiles-for-poor-children/#comments Mon, 16 Apr 2012 22:16:43 +0000 Kathleen Maclay http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=24650 UC Berkeley integrative biology major Hường Trần says she is "paying it forward" with a program taking dental-health education into classrooms for needy children.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/16/aspiring-oral-surgeon-works-to-supersize-smiles-for-poor-children/feed/ 0 http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/news/2012/04/nomura_name_searle_scholar.php#more http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/news/2012/04/nomura_name_searle_scholar.php#more#comments Sat, 14 Apr 2012 00:49:44 +0000 Public Affairs http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=28460 Daniel Nomura, an assistant professor in nutritional sciences and toxicology, is one of 15 U.S. researchers in the chemical and biological sciences to be named a 2012 Searle Scholar.]]> http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/news/2012/04/nomura_name_searle_scholar.php#more/feed/ 0 http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/13/uc-berkeley-passes-management-of-allen-telescope-array-to-sri/ http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/13/uc-berkeley-passes-management-of-allen-telescope-array-to-sri/#comments Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:10:00 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=27100 After operating the Hat Creek Radio Observatory for more than 50 years, and most recently partnering with the SETI Institute to build the Allen Telescope Array, UC Berkeley is handing over management to SRI International, which will operate the observatory for the U.S. Air Force. The telescope will track space debris and continue to search for signs of intelligent civilizations.]]> http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/2012/04/13/uc-berkeley-passes-management-of-allen-telescope-array-to-sri/feed/ 0 http://media.caltech.edu/press_releases/13506 http://media.caltech.edu/press_releases/13506#comments Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:44:48 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=28277 Seth Finnegan, a Caltech post-doc who will join the UC Berkeley faculty in the summer, has pinpointed the conditions that triggered one of Earth's five major mass extinctions: the one that occurred 450 million years ago at the end of the Ordovician Period. Glaciation lowered sea level and eliminated a lot of marine habitat, while cold killed off tropical marine species.]]> http://media.caltech.edu/press_releases/13506/feed/ 0 http://www.asbmb.org/asbmbtoday/asbmbtoday_article.aspx?id=16448 http://www.asbmb.org/asbmbtoday/asbmbtoday_article.aspx?id=16448#comments Tue, 10 Apr 2012 21:06:52 +0000 Robert Sanders http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/?p=28220 Susan Marqusee, a professor of molecular and cell biology and director of the Berkeley branch of QB3 (California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences) has received the William C. Rose Award of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. She was recognized for her studies of protein structure and for her encouragement of the next generation of scientists.]]> http://www.asbmb.org/asbmbtoday/asbmbtoday_article.aspx?id=16448/feed/ 0