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14-May-2007

Berkeley Lab Life Sciences division awarded NIH grants for fruit fly, nematode studies

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Grant and Award Announcement

Researchers in the Life Sciences Division of the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are principal investigators on two modENCODE grants announced May 14 by the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Others are co-principal investigators on additional modENCODE grants for studying the functional elements of model organisms as part of NHGRI's Encyclopedia of DNA Elements.

Funder: NIH/National Human Genome Research Institute

14-May-2007

DOE JGI sets 'gold standard' for metagenomic data analysis

DOE/Joint Genome Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The field of metagenomics is still in its infancy -- the equivalent of the early days of the California Gold Rush, with labs vying to stake their claim. Amidst the prospecting, the call has been issued for methods to separate fool's gold from the real nuggets. Such a gold standard has now been set and published by the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute with colleagues in the May edition of Nature Methods.

Journal: Nature Methods
Funder: US Department of Energy's Office of Science

3-May-2007

Vigorous exercise keeps people thin with age

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

People who maintain a vigorously active lifestyle as they age gain less weight than people who exercise at more moderate levels, according to a Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study that tracked a large group of runners who kept the same exercise regimen as they grew older. The study, in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, followed 6,119 men and 2,221 women who maintained their weekly running mileage over a seven-year period.

Journal: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise
Funder: Lung and Blood Institute, NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

2-May-2007

Lab-on-a-chip device from Berkeley Lab to speed proteomics research

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Future proteomics research should see a substantial acceleration with the development of a new device that provides the first monolithic interface between mass spectrometry and silicon/silica-based microfluidic "lab-on-a-chip" technologies. This new device, called a multinozzle nanoelectrospray emitter array, was developed by scientists with the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).

Journal: ACS Chemical Biology
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy, National Institutes of Health

30-Apr-2007

Puzzling plankton yield secrets to role in evolution/global photosynthesis

DOE/Joint Genome Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The analysis of DNA sequences from tiny green algae have provided new insights into the mystery of how new species of plankton evolve -- and further highlights their critical role in managing the global cycling of carbon. These findings, by a group led by the DOE Joint Genome Institute; the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego; and the Pierre & Marie Curie University, were published this week in PNAS.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Funder: US Department of Energy's Office of Science

12-Apr-2007

Quantum secrets of photosynthesis revealed

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The mystery of how nature, through photosynthesis, is able to transfer solar energy through molecular systems with nearly 100-percent efficiency appears to have been solved. A study led by researchers with the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley reports that the answer lies in quantum mechanical effects.

Journal: Nature
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

9-Apr-2007

Trees to offset the carbon footprint?

DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

How effective are new trees in offsetting the carbon footprint? A new study suggests that the location of the new trees is an important factor when considering such carbon offset projects. Planting and preserving forests in the tropics is more likely to slow down global warming.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

6-Apr-2007

Researchers move closer to switching nuclear isomer decay on and off

DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Livermore researchers have moved one step closer to being able to turn on and off the decay of a nuclear isomer.

Journal: Physical Review Letters

22-Mar-2007

No pain, DOE Joint Genome Institute gains coveted ergonomics prize with 'Shake 'N Plate'

DOE/Joint Genome Institute
Grant and Award Announcement

Emerging from a record field of finalists representing major multinational companies, a team from the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory won the 2007 Ergo Cup. DOE JGI's "Shake 'N Plate" instrument took the prize for the "team-driven workplace solutions" category at the 10th annual Applied Ergonomics Conference. The Ergo Cup, presented by the Institute of Industrial Engineers, provides opportunities for institutions to highlight successful ergonomic innovations.

Funder: US Department of Energy's Office of Science

16-Mar-2007

Crops feeling the heat

DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Warming temperatures since 1981 have caused annual losses of roughly $5 billion for the major cereal crops, a study has found.

Journal: Environmental Research Letters