Press Releases in April, 2011

A message from the president

Brown will postpone recommendations on varsity teams until October

In a letter to the Brown community this afternoon, President Ruth J. Simmons announced that she will submit her recommendation on the future status of four varsity teams to the Brown Corporation at its October meeting. The wrestling, skiing and fencing teams will compete in the 2011-12 academic year. The text of Simmons’ message follows here. (Distributed April 29, 2011)

The 243rd Commencement

Brown to confer 10 honorary doctorates May 29

Brown will confer honorary degrees on 10 distinguished candidates during its 243rd Commencement exercises, Sunday, May 29, 2011. The candidates include Olympian Katie King Crowley, online editor Arianna Huffington, columnist Nicholas D. Kristof, mathematician David B. Mumford, actor Jack Nicholson, playwright Lynn Ida Nottage, physicist Lisa Randall, human rights activist Kenneth Roth, astronaut David R. Scott, and poet and editor Zhenkai Zhao (Bei Dao). (Distributed April 27, 2011)

Versatility of stem cells controlled by alliances, competitions of proteins

More like globs of proteins: Transcription factors may compete or cooperate within cells, producing complex bindings across hundreds of nucleotides, determing what kind of cells stem cells become. William Fairbrother, center, postdoctoral researcher Alec DeSimone and technician Luciana Ferraris analyzed hundreds of thousands of DNA letters and found previously unspotted patterns of protein interactions.

Because they can change into any other cell, stem cells are the subject of intense research, but how they “decide” to specialize, or differentiate, hasn’t been understood. A new study using a unique technology shows that proteins must jostle and join behind the scenes to make it happen, as well as to restore flexibility to cells that already had made their choice. (Distributed April 27, 2011)

Teen sleep study adds to evidence of a ‘neural fingerprint’

Great nature’s second course: Despite the major neural overhaul underway during adolescence, most sleep study subjects maintained a unique and consistent pattern of underlying
brain oscillations, suggesting that people produce a kind of brainwave
“fingerprint.”

New research finds that consistent, “signature” brainwave patterns first noticed in short-term studies of adults are so robust that they’re also detectable over a matter of years in the notoriously turbulent brains of teens. From there, the question is what such a “neural fingerprint” might mean. (Distributed April 26, 2011)

Fighting HIV in South Africa should focus on couples, study finds

Couples-based focus on HIV prevention: Analysis of data in South Africa suggests that by bringing men and women into counseling together, couples-based programs may
help overcome power imbalances between men and women that can worsen communication about HIV status in some relationships.

A survey of sexual behavior by more than 1,000 HIV-positive people found that risky behaviors are about as prevalent when long-term partners were HIV-positive, HIV-negative, or their status was unknown. The risk of the virus spreading within couples is therefore important to address, researchers argue. (Distributed April 25, 2011)

Earth Day 2011

Brown students host discussion on nuclear energy

The Japan Cultural Association at Brown has organized a forum for 4 p.m. on Earth Day — Friday, April 22 — at the Watson Institute for International Studies. (Distributed April 21, 2011)

Brown athletics

Athletics Review Committee issues report for campus review

Brown University’s Athletics Review Committee has released a report that recommends a package of steps including a reduction in the number of varsity teams, significant investment in athletic facilities, more competitive salaries for coaches and staff, and a better alignment of schedules to avoid conflicts between academic and athletic programs among student-athletes. That report and a summary of campus discussion in coming weeks will be submitted to President Ruth J. Simmons in advance of the Corporation’s next meeting. (Distributed April 21, 2011)

RITE OF SPRING

In time for spring, research shows how seedlings regulate growth

Growth when you want it: Ethylene, a gaseous hormone,
inhibits the elongation of plant cells. Germinating seedlings need to grow rapidly to reach the soil surface and begin photosynthesis; they need to inhibit ethylene. Seeds on the left could not inhibit ethylene as well.

All kinds of organisms, from plants to people, regulate growth via networks of proteins that add on and lop off phosphate molecules. In a new study, Brown professor Alison DeLong explains key steps that allow seedlings to make it past the surface of the soil. (Distributed April 21, 2011)

John Donoghue elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

John P. Donoghue: Henry Merritt Wriston Professor
Professor of Neuroscience and Engineering
Director, Brown Institute for Brain Science

John P. Donoghue, the Henry Merritt Wriston Professor and director of the Brown Institute for Brain Science, has been elected to fellowship in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Donoghue, a pioneer researcher in brain-computer interface, is the 34th current Brown faculty member elected to AAAS fellowship. (Distributed April 19, 2011)

Genetics of learning

Advice vs. experience: Genes predict learning style

When advice and experience do not agree: At what point do people set aside advice and follow what they have learned from experience? Michael Frank, right, and Bradley Doll have found evidence of a genetic predisposition.

A new study led by Brown University researchers finds a specific genetic association with adhering to advice that conflicts with experience. Variations in certain genes lead to a strong-willed prefrontal cortex that can bias the striatum, where experience is analyzed. (Distributed April 19, 2011)

How do you manage U.S. oceans? Look at local successes

A fishing boat sits in the harbor, Morro Bay, Calif. Setting policy for use of oceans, coastal waters, and the Great Lakes isn’t just a matter of ecological science. Local residents who regularly use the resources contribute valuable knowledge too.

A team of experts led by Brown University has a plan to advance President Obama’s directive to manage the nation’s waters better. In a paper in Conservation Letters, the natural and social scientists offer several recommendations based on a two-year investigation of marine management efforts by more than two-dozen local and regional groups from California to Maine. The recommendations could be integrated into the National Ocean Policy. (Distributed April 18, 2011)

For family violence among adolescents, mattering matters

Above all else: the need to matter: Do others know you exist? Do they invest time and resources in you? Do they look to you as a resource? Greg Elliott asserts that “mattering” is the fundamental motivation in human beings.

Teens and adolescents who believe that they matter to their family - that is, they feel the make a difference in the family's daily doings- are significantly less likely to threaten or engage in family violence, according to a new study by Brown sociologist Gregory Elliott. The findings are published in the Journal of Family Issues. (Distributed April 18, 2011)

Forum on Women Leaders

Valerie Jarrett, White House senior advisor, to speak April 27

Valerie Jarrett: A senior advisor to President Obama, Jarrett also chairs the White House Council on Women and Girls.

The Doherty-Granoff Forum on Women Leaders presents remarks by Valerie Jarrett, a senior advisor to President Barack Obama and chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls, on Wednesday, April 27, 2011. (Distributed April 15, 2011)

Children victims of most eye injuries from aerosols

Ubiquitous and dangerous: More than half of eye injuries treated in emergency rooms involved children 18 years and younger, with the youngest children — ages 0 to 4 — accounting for nearly half of the cases.

A new estimate of emergency room visits for eye injuries related to aerosol spray cans finds that children account for more than half the cases. Infants and toddlers are the most common age segment affected, leading researchers to emphasize prevention. (Distributed April 12, 2011)

Delhi air quality regulations improve respiratory health

Breathing easier in Delhi: Faced with severe air pollution, the Indian Supreme Court mandated sweeping reforms, includinging conversion of buses and other public transport to compressed national gas. Researach using NASA images shows that the reforms are working.

New research by Brown University economist Andrew Foster is among the first to use remote sensing imagery to look directly at the effects of air quality on health. The authors find that radical regulations to improve air quality in Delhi at the turn of the millennium had a positive impact on the health of the population, especially among low-income men. (Distributed April 11, 2011)