The size of a cell's nucleus varies by species, by cell type, and with disease: many cancer cells develop larger nuclei as they become more malignant. Working with the African clawed frog, Professor Rebecca Heald and post-doc Daniel Levy have discovered two proteins that control the size of the nucleus.

If chromosomes are to separate properly during cell division, the microtubules in the cell must grab onto them and pull them apart. The place where the microtubules latch on is a large molecular complex called the kinetochore. Eva Nogales and her UC Berkeley/LBNL team have created the first high-resolution image of this junction and identified regulators that prevent errors that can lead to cancer or death.

A large-scale analysis of existing research reinforces the growing consensus that the mathematical skills of boys and girls, as well as men and women, are substantially equal. The study team, including Marcia Linn, Berkeley professor of education, reviewed 242 research articles assessing the math skills of nearly 1.3 million people.

When customers are allowed to pay what they want for a purchase, knowing a portion of the payment will go to charity, they become rather generous, according to Leif Nelson, associate professor of business. "Shared social responsibility" may provide the sustainability component lacking in many corporate social responsibility strategies, Nelson says.

Jennifer Doudna has been elected a member of the Institute of Medicine, considered one of the highest honors in the fields of medicine and health. A professor of molecular and cell biology and an LBNL scientist, Doudna is one of only 12 IOM members on the UC Berkeley faculty.

NASA has approved a mission to Mars called MAVEN that will collect data to understand why and how Mars lost its atmosphere. Half the instruments will be built at UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory under the direction of physicist Robert Lin.

Exposure to dirty air is linked to decreased function of a gene that appears to increase the severity of asthma in children, according to a joint study by researchers at Stanford University and UC Berkeley. While air pollution is known to be a source of immediate inflammation, this new study provides one of the first pieces of direct evidence that explains how some ambient air pollutants could have long-term effects.

Diagnostic X-rays may increase the risk of developing childhood leukemia, according to a new study by UC Berkeley researchers. Specifically, the researchers found that children with acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL) had almost twice the chance of having been exposed to three or more X-rays compared with children who did not have leukemia.

Three UC Berkeley faculty members - Diana Bautista, Amy Herr and Donald Rio - have been singled out as innovators by the National Institutes of Health and will receive special grants designed to fund "transformative research" that could lead to major advances in medical science.

A new study led by a UC Berkeley health researcher suggests that women who get dental care reduce their risk of heart attacks, stroke and other cardiovascular problems by at least one-third. The findings add to a growing body of research linking gum disease with risk factors for heart disease and stroke.