Just passing this along, it’s a little newsletter I get from UC Berkeley as an alum showcasing some of the neat-o stuff they’re doing in the field of science. I really love Berkeley, I really do. Miss it a lot, sometimes. Whoops, off on a tangent. Anyway, the following contains links to some interesting articles on cutting-edge science issues…
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ScienceMatters@BerkeleyVolume 5, Issue 34
January 2008
Dear College of Letters & Science Alumni:
Happy New Year! 2008 promises to be a year of exciting new research and discoveries. Find out how Berkeley professors and researchers are in the forefront in ScienceMatters@Berkeley. We showcase scientific research taking place in the College of Letters & Science and the College of Chemistry.
This issue includes: • Souping Up Superconductors • Truth in Data • The Copy Machine of the Cell
Souping Up Superconductors Imagine a world where electricity was virtually free and the means to store it limitless. Alessandra Lanzara, a Berkeley professor of physics, sees a way to reach this goal: by restringing the power grid with high temperature superconductors.
Truth in Data When it comes to scientific studies, results can be deceiving, with claims that are more likely to be false than true. The problem, says Berkeley professor of biostatistics and statistics Mark van der Laan, lies neither with science nor data. He is researching methods to make studies more accurate and reliable, in particular those involving clinical trials that enroll hundreds or even thousands of subjects and can cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Copy Machine of the Cell When Berkeley professor of biochemistry and molecular biology Mike Botchan first began studying chromosome copying, basic questions about the process remained unknown. Over the past three decades, Botchan has been instrumental in piecing together the story of what he calls “the elaborate dance of DNA replication.”
ScienceMatters@Berkeley is published online by the College of Letters & Science at the University of California, Berkeley. The mission of ScienceMatters@Berkeley is to showcase the exciting scientific research underway in the College of Letters & Science and the College of Chemistry.
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