| Targeting
enzymes that immortalize cancer cells: if they can’t
be turned off, try to round them up
Discovery of a clever trick that cancer cells
use to make themselves immortal may lead to a way to stop
their unchecked growth, according to scientists at the
University of California, Berkeley.
(press
release, 30 August)
Molecular
motor powerful enough to pack DNA into viruses at greater
than champagne pressures, researchers report
The DNA inside some viruses is packed so tightly
that the internal pressure reaches 10 times that in a
champagne bottle, according to researchers here and at
the University of Minnesota. The molecular motor responsible
for this compression can pack DNA to a pressure of about
60 atmospheres. Researchers suspect that this helps the
virus spurt its DNA into a cell once it has latched onto
the surface.
(press
release, 18 October)
Soy
protein prevents skin tumors from developing in mice,
UC Berkeley researchers find
New
research may add yet another boost to the healthy reputation
of the humble soybean. A study published Oct. 15 in the
journal Cancer Research shows that mice with the
soy protein lunasin applied to their skin had significantly
lower rates of skin cancer than mice without the lunasin
treatment.
(press
release, 15 October)
New
multi-drug resistant strain of E. coli emerges across
country
In a study published in the New England Journal of
Medicine, UC Berkeley researchers found that a new strain
of E. coli bacteria accounted for 38 to 50 percent of
the drug-resistant forms of urinary tract infections in
women from three distinct regions in the United States.
(press
release, 3 October)
Iron-deficient
children at risk for higher levels of lead in their blood
Iron deficiency can threaten the mental and physical
development of young children. Now, a study by researchers
from the University of California, Berkeley, and the state
health department adds new evidence that insufficient
iron levels may also be putting children at higher risk
for increased lead exposure.
(press
release, 3 October)
Cancer-detecting
microchip - a micromachined cantilever - is sensitive
assay for prostate cancer and potentially other diseases,
researchers report
A microscopic diving board the size of a human hair may
prove to be an ideal detector of proteins or DNA, with
potential application in disease diagnosis or drug discovery.
The MEMS device, a microcantilever, bends when molecules
bind to the surface. A team from UC Berkeley, Oak Ridge
National Laboratory and USC report in Nature Biotechnology
its successful use in detecting the blood markers doctors
look for in prostate cancer. An array of cantilevers could
be used to create a "cancer chip" for diagnosing or following
the course of many cancers simultaneously. The technique
has broader application, however, such as for detecting
point mutations in single-stranded DNA.
(press
release, 30 August)
Eye
researchers study ways to predict retinal changes that
lead to vision loss
Small, barely detectable, changes in the retina may predict
the onset of vision loss in people with diabetes and allow
early treatment, if a study beginning this summer at UC
Berkeley's School of Optometry is successful. Preliminary
tests have found a striking relationship between these
small changes and existing eye damage. The school has
now launched a $1.6 million research project to study
these changes in people with diabetes.
(press
release, 18 July)
Dennis
Levi, a vision scientist from Houston to become dean of
School of Optometry
An internationally known vision scientist from the University
of Houston, Dennis M. Levi, will take the helm on August
15 as dean of the School of Optometry at the University
of California, Berkeley. "We are pleased to have an individual
whose status in optometry and vision research is well
recognized internationally," said the current dean of
the school, Anthony Adams. He added that Levi's thoughtful
approach and ability to listen to others will allow him
to work well with the physical and biological scientists
on campus who are involved with the Health Sciences Initiative.
(press release, June 27)
UC
Berkeley releases draft EIR on state-of-the-art, seismically
secure science and technology buildings
Construction noise and the loss of recreation areas were
identified as the significant, unavoidable environmental
impacts associated with building new health sciences and
technology research facilities at the University of California,
Berkeley, according to a draft environmental impact report
released by the campus this week. The campus proposes
to replace two outdated and seismically poor research
buildings - Stanley Hall and old Davis Hall - with modern,
safe structures in the northeast area of the campus. The
proposed new buildings will house interdisciplinary research
in the health sciences, bioengineering, and information
technology. (press release, June
20)
AIDS
in Africa has potential to affect human evolution, UC
Berkeley scientists report
Three UC Berkeley biologists show in May issue of Nature
that over a period of several generations, AIDS could
alter the frequency of specific genetic mutations in African
populations, delaying the average time between HIV infection
and onset of disease. Though this genetic evolution probably
won't impact health management in Africa - public health
experts pray that drugs or vaccines will soon cut the
high mortality and infection rates on the continent -
it provides a rare example of how epidemic infectious
diseases can exert selective pressure on the human genome.
(press release, May 30)
UC
Berkeley biochemist receives award for health research
UC Berkeley biochemist Bruce Ames, a world leader in the
study of nutrition and its relationship to aging, cancer
and other health concerns, has been named the first recipient
of the $50,000 Linus Pauling Institute Prize for Health
Research. The award was made in Portland, Ore., at the
national symposium "Diet and Optimum Health," sponsored
by Oregon State University's Linus Pauling Institute.
This inaugural award is designed to recognize excellence
in the field of nutrition research, especially the study
of micronutrients, vitamins and phytochemicals in promoting
optimum health and preventing disease. (May
21)
Drive
for managed health care has lost the war; proponents in
full-scale retreat, says UC Berkeley authority
Proponents of managed health care are in full-scale retreat
from the effort to control medical costs, while financial
responsibility and treatment choices are shifting from
employers and governmental programs to individual consumers,
according to health economist James C. Robinson at UC
Berkeley. These developments are likely to result in rising
health care costs, along with greater consumer control
of medical treatments, says Robinson, an authority on
managed care systems in the nation and a UC Berkeley professor
of public health. (press release,
May 22)
Digital
Feature: Berkeley researchers unravel mysteries of the
mind
A University of California Science Today video news feature
shows how Berkeley researchers use a powerful new brain
imaging machine to better understand the human mind.
(UC Science Today Video, 10 May)
March
of Dimes Prize goes to Berkeley's Corey Goodman and co-winner
Neuroscientist Corey S. Goodman, professor of molecular
and cell biology and director of Berkeley's Helen Wills
Neuroscience Institute, has been named co-recipient of
this year's March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology.
Goodman and co-winner Thomas M. Jessell, professor of
biochemistry and molecular biophysics at Columbia University
in New York, will receive the $100,000 cash prize April
30 for their work revealing how brain wiring goes awry
in birth defects and adult diseases.
(press release, 27 Apr)
Other
Berkeley
Health Sciences Initiative news of interest:
1. Researchers have discovered that a potent
chemical signal known to guide the wiring of neurons
in the developing nervous system also directs migrating
muscle fibers to their proper connections.
2. By
applying precise,
mechanical forces to the ends of individual RNA molecules,
researchers have unfolded and refolded the molecules.
(press releases, 27 Apr)
Berkeley
protein discovery offers hope for cancer vaccine
Berkeley researchers have found a protein on prostate
cancer cells that tips off the immune system to the tumor's
presence and brings in an armada of immune cells to destroy
it. If the protein, called an antigen, is truly unique
to prostate cancer cells, it could lead to diagnostics
for prostate cancer and a potential vaccine therapy against
the disease, which is the second leading cause of cancer
death in men, after lung cancer. This is the first prostate
cancer antigen found.
(press release, 3 Apr)
DIGITAL
FEATURE:
Berkeley
Health Sciences Initiative research shows what the brain
really sees
The eye as a camera has been a powerful metaphor
for poets and scientists alike. Recent
Berkeley studies show, however, that what the eye sends
to the brain are mere outlines and sketchy impressions
of the visual world. See what the brain really sees by
visiting Berkeley's first
digital feature story, which reports on Health
Sciences Initiative research published in Nature.
(press
release, 28 Mar 2001)
Male
infertility linked to diet, say Berkeley scientists, co-authors
Low
levels of folic acid, a key component for DNA synthesis,
are associated with decreased sperm count and decreased
sperm density in men, according to a new study by scientists
at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Western
Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis.
(press release, 26 Feb)
Nation's
most powerful brain scanner devoted solely to research
inaugurates new era of brain research at UC Berkeley
(press
release, 20 Nov 2000)
Listeria
bacteria yield clues to workings of other deadly intracellular
pathogens, UC Berkeley scientists report
(press
release, 02 Nov 2000)
NSF,
NIH give $5.2 million to UC Berkeley to train scientists
for the post-genome world
(press
release, 30 Aug 2000)
Field
Studies: Effort addresses health effects of pesticides
and allergens on rural mothers and babies
(Berkeleyan,
23 Aug 2000)
More
than bricks and mortar: Proposed facilities unite disciplines
to solve nation's health problems
(Berkeleyan
Special Issue, Fall 2000)
UC
Berkeley faculty receive big honors: five elected to National
Academy of Sciences; three appointed HHMI investigators
(11
May 2000)
Whitaker
Foundation grants $15 million to bioengineering, UC Berkeley's
newest department
(03
May 2000)
UC
Berkeley psychologist finds evidence that male hormones
in the womb affect sexual orientation
(29
Mar 2000)
UC
Berkeley collaboration with Celera Genomics concludes
with publication of nearly complete sequence of the genome
of the fruit fly
(24
Mar 2000)
Symposium
Sat., March 25, to honor Professor Daniel Koshland Jr.:
biochemist, visionary and UC Berkeley benefactor
(23
Mar 2000)
Infamous
"van Gogh" beverage contains potent toxin with curious
brain effects, UC Berkeley scientists discover
(22
Mar 2000)
New
UC Berkeley "bionic chip" features living biological cell
successfully merged with electronic circuitry
(25
Feb 2000)
Revised
model of protein-drug interactions could make job of drug
designers a little easier
(14
Feb 2000)
Interview:
Public Health Dean Edward Penhoet Emphasizes Collaboration
at Campus's 'Gateway to Health'
(16
Feb 2000)
Snapping
3-D picture of the "heart" of the transcription machine
(09
Dec 1999)
Rare
disease is dramatic demonstration of critical role of
"immortality" enzyme
(01
Dec 1999)
Mutant
gene can protect against leukemia
(25
Oct 1999)
Announcement
of Health Sciences Initiative
(06
Oct 1999)
Promising
new therapy for prostate cancer, melanoma
(08
Sep 1999)
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