Scientists have sequenced the genome of a weird, single-celled organism called Naegleria gruberi that is telling biologists about that transition from prokaryotes, which function just fine with all their proteins floating around in a soup, to eukaryotes, which neatly compartmentalize those proteins. When under stress, the organism quickly grows two flagella that it uses to swim around. The study was co-authored by Simon Prochnik of Berkeley Lab and the Joint Genome Institute. More> 
Research in systems biology tends to organize itself around domains known as “omics,” for example genomics, an organism’s full set of DNA, and proteomics, the full set of proteins encoded by the genome. An important feature of these sets is their complexity and heterogeneity among different cell types. For proteomics, Daojing Wang and his colleagues, including materials scientist Peidong Yang, developed “microfabricated monolithic multinozzle emitters” to enable mass spectrometry of biological fluids on the scale of a microprocessor “lab-on-a-chip.” Wang’s new multinozzle arrays will concentrate specifically on the metabolomics of individual stem cells. More>
Special Event: ‘Zircons From Hell’ Topic of Next Earth Sciences LectureThe Earth Sciences Division hosts its next Distinguished Scientist Seminar on Friday at 10:30 a.m. in the Building 50 Auditorium. John Valley, with the department of Geoscience at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will discuss “Zircons From Hell." Valley established a Stable Isotope Geochemistry lab at Wisonsin and researches early earth, astrobiology, mountain belts, and paleoclimatology.
The Lead Worker training (EHS0330) has been moved from the classroom to an online version. This is an interactive course that has been revised. It provides information to Lab employees on the hazards, controls, and specific Lab procedures associated with lead work. Go here to access the course. Go here for more information, or contact Lead Program Manager Tim Roberts (X2709).
HR Benefits: Webinars, Presentations on Restart of Retirement Contributions Staff who want to learn more about the restart of contributions to their UC Retirement Plan (UCRP), scheduled to begin in mid-April and apply to May earnings, are invited to attend one of three webinars on March 18, 22 or 31, or live presentations on March 15 and 25. Go here for times, location, and registration information.
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