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Press Releases in October, 2010

Mars volcanic deposit tells of warm and wet environment

Warm, wet spots: Volcanic deposits on Mars may preserve evidence of one of the planet’s most recent habitable microenvironments. The deposits, shown in white (arrows), are located in Nili Patera, a degraded volcanic cone in Syrtis Major of equatorial Mars.
Planetary scientists led by Brown University have found a volcanic deposit on Mars that would have been a promising wellspring for life. The silica deposit clearly shows the presence of water and heat. It was formed at a time when Mars’ climate turned dry and chilly, which could mark it as one of the most recent habitable microenvironments on the red planet. The finding is published in Nature Geoscience. (Distributed October 31, 2010)

NASA-engineered collision spills new Moon secrets

A productive collision: Peter Schultz and graduate student Brendan Hermalyn analyzed data from bits of the Moon’s surface kicked up by a NASA-engineered collision. They found unexpected complexity — and traces of silver.
Researchers at Brown University have produced the first detailed description of what happened when a NASA mission slammed a rocket into the moon’s south pole last October. The collision threw debris into sunlight more than a half mile above the surface. They discovered that the soil below the surface at the moon’s poles harbors water and an assortment of other compounds, including carbon dioxide, ammonia, free sodium, and, surprisingly, silver. Results are published in Science. (Distributed October 21, 2010)
Alcohol Research Center on HIV

$7.5M grant to fund research on interaction of drinking and HIV infection

Peter Monti: The Donald G. Millar Distinguished Professor of Alcohol and Addiction StudiesDirector, Brown Alcohol Research Center on HIV
Individually, HIV and excessive alcohol consumption are international health crises, but when they intersect they can be uniquely troubling. Scientists at the Brown Alcohol Research Center on HIV, a new federally funded center, will explore physiological and behavioral questions raised by the combination, ranging from effects on the brain to the efficacy of interventions. (Distributed October 20, 2010)

Deadly virus reveals a potential weakness

A fatal preference: The virus approaches a cell, looking for a landing site. By figuring out which sugar molecule the JC polyomavirus prefers for binding, researchers have opened new possibilities for therapy and prevention.
A new study of the JC polyomavirus, a devastating pathogen that attacks brain cells in patients with compromised immune systems, has revealed how it binds to its targets, providing a basis for developing drugs to interrupt that process. (Distributed October 20, 2010)
News and Media Advisory

Taubman Center to host mayoral debate Thursday, Oct. 21

Two candidates for mayor of Providence — Democrat Angel Taveras and Independent Jonathan Scott — will take part in a debate at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010, on the Brown campus. The Taubman Center for Public Policy will host; Taubman Director Marion Orr will moderate. (Distributed October 19, 2010)

Research team identifies new mechanism with suspected role in cancer

Working in pairs: Under certain conditions, prolactin receptors (yellow in this schematic) can be joined to form dimers — working pairs — that researchers say could contribute to the incidence of cancer.
Researchers at Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital have identified a process in which prolactin receptors can be drawn together and begin working in pairs called dimers. Overexpression of prolactin receptors in patients has been linked to cancer. (Distributed October 18, 2010)
Prenatal care

Researchers report two advances against preeclampsia

Surendra Sharma, professor of pediatrics: “Hopefully, preeclampsia can be controlled.”
Preeclampsia, a sudden-onset and sometimes fatal prenatal disease, may strike up to 8 percent of pregnant women worldwide. Researchers have now developed a dependable pregnancy-specific animal model for laboratory testing and may have a predictive test that would allow early intervention. The studies are reported in The American Journal of Pathology. (Distributed October 14, 2010)
News and Media Advisory

Taubman Center to host gubernatorial debate Thursday, Oct. 14

Four gubernatorial candidates — Moderate Ken Block, Democrat Frank Caprio, Independent Lincoln Chafee, and Republican John Robitaille — will take part in a debate Thursday, Oct. 14, 2010, on the Brown campus. The Taubman Center for Public Policy will host; Taubman Director Marion Orr will moderate. (Distributed October 12, 2010)

Kay Warren named director of Pembroke Center

Kay Warren: Charles C. Tillinghast Jr. ’32 Professor of International Studies, Professor of Anthropology, and Director of the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women
Anthropologist Kay Warren has been appointed director of the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women. The Pembroke Center, celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2011, is expanding its support of path-breaking research that spans the humanities, social sciences, and creative arts. (Distributed October 8, 2010)
ENERGY

Brown University chemists simplify biodiesel conversion

Waste not, want not: Aaron Socha, left, and Jason Sello devised a way to convert waste vegetable oil to biodiesel in a single reaction vessel, using environmentally friendly catalysts.
Two chemists at Brown University have streamlined the conversion of waste vegetable oil into biodiesel, eliminating the need for corrosive chemicals to perform the reactions. Writing in the journal Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, the chemists were able to pull off the waste vegetable oil-to-biodiesel conversion in a single reaction vessel using environmentally friendly catalysts and making the conversion six times faster than current methods. (Distributed October 7, 2010)