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Archaeologists working in eastern Jordan have announced its discovery of 20,000-year-old hut structures, the earliest yet found in that country. Along with materials found in the huts, the find suggests the area was once intensively occupied and offers a new perspective on how humans lived at the time.
Research archive
Yosemite’s alpine chipmunks take genetic hit from climate change
February 19, 2012: Global warming has driven Yosemite’s alpine chipmunks to higher ground, prompting a startling decline in the species’ genetic diversity. The genetic erosion occurred in the relatively short span of 90 years, highlighting the rapid threat changing climate can pose to a species, and putting the alpine chipmunk on a trajectory toward extinction.
On-site worker rescue plan urged for confined spaces
February 13, 2012: Many employers rely upon public fire departments to rescue workers in confined spaces. That is a mistake, according to a UC Berkeley analysis of hundreds of worker deaths over 13 years in the United States. Companies need to station trained, rescue personnel on site so they can pull workers out within moments in an emergency, the study concludes.
Breakthrough in designing cheaper, more efficient catalysts for fuel cells
February 9, 2012: UC Berkeley chemists Chris Chang, Jeff Long and Marcin Majda have redesigned catalysts in ways that could have a profound impact on the chemical industry as well as on the growing market for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
Advanced power-grid model finds low-cost, low-carbon future in West
February 9, 2012: The least expensive way for the Western U.S. to reduce greenhouse gas emissions enough to help prevent the worst consequences of global warming is to replace coal with renewable and other sources of energy that may include nuclear power, according to a new study by UC Berkeley researchers.
Sweet news about chocolate… but
February 8, 2012: Several recent large-scale research reviews have provided the best evidence yet that chocolate is good for your heart — good news as the national chocolate holiday approaches. The UC Berkeley Wellness letter sums up the research, but adds a few caveats about chocolate’s pitfalls.
UC Berkeley grad student’s research spurred by Gulf oil spill 
February 8, 2012: Soon after the April 2010 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil platform killed 11 workers and spilled 5 million barrels of crude into the Gulf of Mexico, UC Berkeley graduate student Thomas Azwell packed his bags and headed to Louisiana. Azwell teamed up with researchers in the Gulf to develop marsh restoration technology that could impact remediation efforts nationwide.
Solving the Brueghel ‘imbroglio’ with modern, digital tools
February 7, 2012: Thanks to a grant from CITRIS, associate art professor Elizabeth Honig is employing some decidedly 21st century digital tools to help sort out a controversy surrounding Brueghel scholarship.
The key to biofuel’s carbon footprint? Location, location, location
February 3, 2012: Determining the climate impact of using grass to make cellulosic ethanol depends on how and where it’s grown, processed and transported, according to a new study published in Environmental Research Letters. Key factors affecting the greenhouse-gas emissions of cellulosic ethanol production were the amount of soil carbon emitted or stored during growth of the grass, and greenhouse-gas offset credits for electricity exported to the grid by biorefineries, said the authors, who are UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researchers at the Energy Biosciences Institute.
Energy secretary joins groundbreaking for new LBNL research facility
February 2, 2012: U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu joined UC and Lawrence Berkeley Lab (LBNL) leaders Feb. 1 to break ground on the lab’s new Computational Research and Theory facility.
Professors’ innovations benefit society, economy
February 1, 2012: Cutting-edge research is a hallmark of UC Berkeley, and it should come as no surprise that faculty members are eager to see their discoveries put to use. Many, such as chemistry dean Richard Mathies, have formed start-ups to develop their inventions to a point where they become viable in the marketplace, benefiting not only society but the university as well.
Scientists decode brain waves to eavesdrop on what we hear 
January 31, 2012: Stroke victims or paralyzed people unable to speak may someday be able to communicate via synthesizers that decode their internal speech and play it back. That hope comes from research by UC Berkeley neuroscientists Brian Pasley and Robert Knight, who have successfully decoded brain waves to predict what a person heard.
Greater Good Center issues RFP for research on gratitude
January 30, 2012: The Greater Good Science Center has issued a call for proposals for a faculty-research project, “Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude.” The deadline to submit a letter of intent is Feb. 15, 2012.
Nuclear commission releases final report to DOE
January 30, 2012: The Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future released its final report to Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Jan. 26. Recommendations include the incorporating community consent when choosing a nuclear waste storage site, and establishing an independent waste management organization. Per Peterson, UC Berkeley professor and chair of nuclear engineering, is one of 15 members of the commission, which was formed in 2010 at the request of President Obama after plans to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain were halted.
California native-plant classic gets a 21st-century makeover 
January 30, 2012: For California botany, The Jepson Manual is the authoritative reference book. Now the super-sized tome has been revised to incorporate a wealth of new knowledge about the state’s huge diversity of native plants. Scholars and staff at the Jepson Herbarium oversaw its 2nd edition, published by UC Press.
Remote sensing places nature at our fingertips
January 27, 2012: UC Berkeley geologist Bill Dietrich and biologist Todd Dawson are two of many UC scientists placing remote sensors in natural reserves to map land, track animals and collect environmental data.
Chemists to develop new materials for hydrogen storage in vehicles
January 26, 2012: The big challenge with hydrogen-powered fuel cells is how to safely and cheaply store enough hydrogen to power a vehicle for 300 miles. UC Berkeley and LBNL scientists led by chemists Jeffrey Long and Martin Head-Gordon recently received a three-year, $2.1 million grant from DOE to develop new hydrogen storage technologies for fuel cell electric vehicles.
NuSTAR X-ray mission readied for March 14 launch
January 25, 2012: NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, shipped to Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on Jan. 24 to be mated to its Pegasus launch vehicle in preparation for a Mar. 14 launch over the Pacific Ocean. The observatory, which will be operated from UC Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory, will detect X-rays from our sun, giant black holes and other objects in space.
Study shows restored wetlands rarely equal condition of original wetlands
January 24, 2012: Half of all wetlands in the United States were destroyed during the 20th century, but a thriving restoration effort aims to recreate the marshes and other ecosystems lost. A new UC Berkeley study cautions, however, that restored wetlands may not recover to the condition of a natural, undamaged wetland for hundreds of years, if ever.
Lifelong brain-stimulating habits linked to lower Alzheimer’s protein levels
January 23, 2012: People who have made mental engagement a lifelong habit have lower levels of a key protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study led by UC Berkeley neuroscientists. The findings could provide support for cognitive therapies to prevent the onset of a debilitating disease.
Gossip isn’t all bad — new study finds its social and psychological benefits
January 17, 2012: For centuries, gossip has been dismissed as salacious, idle chatter that can damage reputations and erode trust. But a new study suggests rumor-mongering can have positive outcomes such as helping us police bad behavior, prevent exploitation and lower stress. Listen to UC Berkeley social psychologist Robb Willer discuss the virtues of gossip on KQED Forum.
Researchers focus on the waste disposal units of living cells
January 13, 2012: Eva Nogales and her colleagues in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and at Berkeley Lab have taken the most detailed look ever at the “regulatory particle” used by the protein machines known as proteasomes to identify and degrade proteins marked for destruction. This particle is critical to a broad range of vital biochemical processes, including the immune defense system.
Labor Center breaks down latest black-worker stats
January 10, 2012: In its latest Black Worker Report, the UC Berkeley Labor Center looks at the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which place black unemployment nationwide at 15.8 percent for December, 2011. (PDF)
Biofuels, land and ethics
January 10, 2012: Growing dedicated energy crops on lands that won’t support food crops is one of the promises of emerging cellulosic fuels. The latest issue of the Energy Biosciences Institute magazine, Bioenergy Connection, looks at how much land is available, its energy-producing potential and which plants are the most promising alternatives. It also explores ethical questions involved in moving toward greater use of bioenergy.
Western bluebirds: Rx for vineyards plagued by insect pests?
January 6, 2012: Research by Berkeley postdoc researcher Julie Jedlicka suggests that encouraging bluebirds to nest in vineyards can help control insect pests. The San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/06/HO9H1MJ6UG.DTL#ixzz1ijIxLms9
Climate change and business research initiative gains traction
January 6, 2012: Environmentalists and corporations don’t always see eye-to-eye on climate change. But the Climate Change and Business Research Initiative has shown that the two sides’ objectives can not only co-exist, but be mutually beneficial. The program — connecting leaders from business, government, nonprofits — is run jointly by the law schools at UC Berkeley and UCLA.
Internet-privacy complaint center launched
January 5, 2012: Scholars at Berkeley helped lay the groundwork for a new service that allows people to report online-privacy problems, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Leaping lizards and dinosaurs inspire robot design
January 4, 2012: Undergraduate and graduate students teamed up with biologist Robert Full to study how lizards use their tails when leaping. What they found can help design robots that are more stable on uneven terrain and after unexpected falls, which is critical to successful search and rescue operations.
Though it’s not mind-reading, neuroscientists explore perception
January 3, 2012: A team of neuroscientists led by Berkeley Professor Jack Gallant are beginning to figure out a way to reconstruct what we see, based on records of our brain activity. Jake Schoneker, a School of Journalism alum, reports on the PBS NewsHour.
Synthetic biologists look to computer-aided design
January 3, 2012: Computer-assisted design tools that have been used to fabricate integrated circuits may soon be coming to the biological sciences, says Professor Jay Keasling, director of the Joint BioEngineering Institute and a world authority on synthetic biology and metabolic engineering.
