Press Releases in All, 2011

a radar for ADAR

Altered gene tracks RNA editing in neurons

Fluorescing flies: Fruit flies treated with a gene that glows green in the presence of the RNA-editing enzyme ADAR show significant individual variations (white arrows) where the enzyme is active and how much of it is present. The bottom row enlarges the areas described by white boxes in the top row.

RNA editing is a key step in gene expression. Scientists at Brown University report in Nature Methods that they have engineered a gene capable of visually displaying the activity of the key enzyme ADAR in living fruit flies. (Distributed December 25, 2011)

Six Groups in 65 Million Years

North American mammal evolution tracks with climate change

Rhino-like animals: This painting by artist Carl Buell depicts a scene from the late Eocene
of North America. The
rhino-like animals in the background are  brontotheres. The pony-sized
Hyracodon, a closer relative of living rhinos, in the foreground.

Climate changes profoundly influenced the rise and fall of six distinct, successive waves of mammal species diversity in North America over the last 65 million years, shows a novel statistical analysis led by Brown University evolutionary biologists. Warming and cooling periods, in two cases confounded by species migrations, marked the transition from one dominant grouping to the next. (Distributed December 22, 2011)

Novel device removes heavy metals from water

Heavy metal removal: Brown engineers have devised an automated system that combines chemical precipitation with electrolytic techniques in a cyclic fashion to remove mixtures of trace heavy metals from contaminated water.

Engineers at Brown University have developed a system that cleanly and efficiently removes trace heavy metals from water. In experiments, the researchers showed the system reduced cadmium, copper, and nickel concentrations, returning contaminated water to near or below federally acceptable standards. The technique is scalable and has viable commercial applications, especially in the environmental remediation and metal recovery fields. Results appear in the Chemical Engineering Journal. (Distributed December 16, 2011)

Taubman Center Public Opinion Survey

Poll: Strong support for pension bill, Raimondo

A recent statewide public opinion survey conducted by the Taubman Center at Brown University finds strong support for the recently enacted pension reform bill introduced by Gov. Lincoln Chafee and State Treasurer Gina Raimondo. While Raimondo’s approval rating has risen sharply, Chafee’s approval numbers have dipped. (Distributed December 15, 2011)

Goldberger to retire as director of athletics

Raise high the roofbeam: Athletic Director Mike Goldberger inspects the signature-covered final beam at the topping-off ceremony for the new fitness-aquatics center early last April.

In a message to the Brown University community, Brown President Ruth J. Simmons announced that Executive Director of Athletics Michael Goldberger will retire at the end of the current academic year. Goldberger has served the University for 38 years, including 10 years as director of admission. (Distributed December 13, 2011)

Year of China

Brown University delegation to visit Shanghai

Global exchanges: Performers from Shanghai Theatre Academy led a workshop for Brown students in Beijing Opera techniques during a visit to campus in October 2011.

A delegation of from Brown University will visit Shanghai, China, in January to further advance Brown's international programs and exchanges. (Distributed December 13, 2011)

Order of the Aztec Eagle

Julio Ortega awarded Mexico’s highest honor

Affection and hope for Mexico: Julio Ortega, professor of Hispanic studies, addresses guests at the presentation ceremony for the Order of the Aztec Eagle on Monday, Dec. 12, 2011, at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington.

Julio Ortega, professor of Hispanic studies, has been awarded the Order of the Aztec Eagle by the Mexican government, the highest decoration awarded by Mexico to foreign citizens. Ortega received the award Monday in Washington. (Distributed December 13, 2011)

Sequencing the neural retina in mice

Gene expression study made easy: Just sequence all of it

Next-generation sequencers: Eric Morrow, postdoctoral scholar Ece Gamsiz, and colleagues have sequenced the entire “transcriptome” of the mouse neural retina. They used “game-changing” technology that would have been prohibitively expensive even five years ago.

In a new study, researchers have gained new insights into neural disease genes by sequencing virtually all the gene expression in the mouse neural retina. The technology to obtain such a “transcriptome” has become accessible enough that full-scale sequencing is the preferred method for asking genetics questions. (Distributed December 7, 2011)

Geodesic domes on the nanoscale

Researchers find best routes to self-assembling 3-D shapes

2-D nets for 3-D shapes: A few of the 2.3 million possible 2-D designs — planar nets — for a truncated octahedron (right column). The question is: Which net is best to make a self-assembling shape at the nanoscale?

Researchers at Brown and Johns Hopkins universities have found optimal configurations for creating 3-D geometric shapes — like tiny, highly simplified geodesic domes that assemble by themselves. The Brown team developed the algorithmic tools, and the Johns Hopkins team tested selected configurations. The research may lead to advances from drug-delivery containers to 3-D sensors and electronic circuits. Results published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (Distributed December 7, 2011)

Three professors named AAAS fellows

Barry Connors, Diane Lipscombe, and David Rand have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. They will be officially welcomed as fellows on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012, at the AAAS Annual Meeting in Vancouver, B.C. (Distributed December 7, 2011)

Good or bad: Surprises drive learning in same neural circuits

Neurosurgeons hoping to find ways to accelerate re-learning after a stroke or brain injury are trying to tease out the circuitry that governs learning. A new study of how the brain processes unexpected events found that neurons in two important structures handle both positive and negative surprises, was a surprise in its own right. (Distributed December 6, 2011)

Infectious fungus, thought to be asexual, isn’t

When microbes meet: Two Candida tropicalis cells, one stained red and the other green, come closer, put out mating projections, and soon produce a daughter cell. Candida is not, as was once thought, exclusively asexual.

Candida tropicalis turns out to have sex, making it the second medically important member of the genus to be capable of mating. Sex may improve the survival of the species, particularly when it’s under pressure. It may also mean the species can achieve greater virulence or drug resistance more quickly than previously thought. (Distributed December 5, 2011)

Coverage and Payment

Chinese health coverage improves with government efforts

A new study of health insurance in nine Chinese provinces shows that individual coverage surged within a two-year time frame, from 2004-2006, coinciding with new government interventions designed to improve access to health care. The changes were most dramatic in rural areas. (Distributed December 5, 2011)

The neuroscience of ethical dilemmas

Are doing harm and allowing harm equivalent?

Looking at a moral choice: Test subjects who feel that doing active harm is morally the same as allowing harm to occur will show more brain activity. The notion that active harm is worse appears to be automatic, a psychological default requiring less thought.

Individuals and courts deal more harshly with people who actively commit harm than with people who willfully allow the same harm to occur. A new study finds that this moral distinction is psychologically automatic. It requires more thought to see each harmful behavior as morally equivalent. (Distributed December 2, 2011)

Darlene Crist named director of news and communications

Darlene Trew Crist, freelance writer and former communications director of the international Census of Marine Life program, has been named director of news and communications at Brown University. She began her duties Dec. 1, 2011. (Distributed December 2, 2011)