New bacterial signaling molecule could lead to improved vaccines

In a 20-year quest to determine why Listeria bacteria produce a uniquely strong immune response in humans, UC Berkeley scientists have found part of the answer: an unsuspected signaling molecule that the bacteria pump out and which ramps up production of interferon by the host. Interferon mobilizes the immune system to fight off bacteria and viruses.

Earthquake simulation shows off the potential for safer bridges

With a series of computer-controlled earthquakes, simulating some of the most devastating in recent memory, engineers from Berkeley's Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) showed off new technology designed to keep bridges not just from collapsing in a catastrophic temblor but open to traffic. A 30-foot scale-model bridge, set up on the shake table (earthquake simulator) at the Richmond Field Station, was the star of the show, put on by Berkeley's Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER).

Study finds governor’s budget would cost jobs, economic output

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's cuts-only approach to balancing the state budget will leave deep economic scars, according to a new report issued today (Thursday, May 27) by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. But it adds that balancing cuts with targeted revenue increases would save nearly 250,000 jobs - half of them in the private sector.

IGS goes Web 2.0 with information resource on state propositions

The University of California, Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies (IGS) is taking a decidedly Web 2.0 tack to help voters sort through the facts, fiction and political posturing around five propositions on the state's June 8 primary election ballot. IGS has collaborated to produce California Choices, a comprehensive resource guide with a unique and colorful multimedia presence and an online tool that, along with a wealth of related data, lets voters electronically share their personal positions on ballot propositions.

STEREO, SOHO spacecraft catch comet diving into sun

Four UC Berkeley post-doctoral fellows have tracked a comet deeper into the sun's atmosphere than ever before, just short of its evaporation in the photosphere using instruments aboard NASA's twin STEREO spacecraft.

Bobbing for carbon

Marine plankton convert a huge portion of the carbon in seawater into seafood. Exactly how much of this biological carbon gets stored in the oceans has a tremendous impact on future climate scenarios. Jim Bishop, a Berkeley professor of earth and planetary science, has designed robots that can measure ocean carbon in all seasons and weathers—critical data for a warming world.

Preventing cells from getting the kinks out of DNA

A new discovery by UC Berkeley biochemists could pave the way for new research into how to re-design some of the standard antibiotic and anti-cancer drugs to make them more effective poisons for cancer cells and harmful bacteria.

Scientists benefit as much as students from "Cleantech to Market" program

Launched as a pilot project at Berkeley Lab, the Cleantech to Market program is finishing its first semester as an official class at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, and it's safe to say the students learned more than they expected on how to take a technology from the laboratory to the marketplace. What was less expected is how much the scientists got out of the program.

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