Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman and Congressman Jerry McNerney were on hand, along with representatives from the offices of Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, other VIP guests, and a generous turnout of the media, to officially dedicate the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), the DOE Bioenergy Research Center operated by a six-institutional partnership under the leadership of Berkeley Lab. The dedication was held yesterday morning at JBEI’s new state-of-the-art laboratory facility in Emeryville. More>
Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman, in town for the JBEI dedication, penned an editorial about the DOE Bioenergy Research Center that was published in yesterday’s San Francisco Chronicle.
Research: Study Reveals Cell Senescence is a Double-Edged Sword Judy Campisi, of the Life Sciences Division, led a study in which it was revealed that cellular senescence, the process by which biological cells stop dividing in response to DNA damage, is a double-edged sword. While this process effectively acts to prevent cancer in younger persons, it was shown to actually promote cancer in older individuals. Campisi’s findings hold implications for chemotherapy, the deleterious effects of old age, and a theory on evolution. More> 
DOE Safety Review: Scoping Visit Takes Place Today and TomorrowThe first step of the DOE Health, Safety, and Security (HSS) Review takes place today and tomorrow with a visit by a two-member scoping team. During this initial visit, the team will visit several on-site and off-site facilities, look at the kinds of research done here, and determine which aspects of that research will be reviewed. The team will then develop an audit plan that will be sent back to the Lab for review. This visit will be followed by the Planning Visit on Jan. 6-8 with the full review team to gather more detailed information. Then the actual review will take place Jan. 25-Feb. 5. More>
In The News: Lab Research Featured in Student Science PublicationThe latest edition of Berkeley Science Review, published by UC Berkeley students, features several stories that involve Berkeley Lab research. Included are stories on the Berkeley Energy Resource Collaborative, which includes Berkeley Lab, and their support of the Darfur Cook Stove (Ashok Gadgil) and ARUBA water purification (Kristin Kowolik) projects, as well as artificial photosynthesis research (Heinz Frei). Also included is a “letter” from graduate student and Berkeley Lab staffer David Strubbe on his study-abroad adventures in Basque Country. More>
Starting this week, the Orange and Blue buses will run on a slightly altered schedule. The Blue bus will leave Building 65 and the Orange bus will leave Buildings 62/66 five minutes later than the current schedule. The change was required to accommodate bus traffic at the downtown Berkeley stop. Buses are not allowed to wait longer than one minute for passengers. Longer-term solutions are being evaluated and will be updated shortly. Send comments to [email protected].
A town hall meeting on pending seismic upgrades to Building 50 will be held tomorrow at 9 a.m. in the Building 50 Auditorium. Topics will include occupant move plans, parking, effect on neighbors, and construction activities. Contact Jack Heffernan for more information (x5993).
In yesterday's Special Edition of Today at Berkeley, announcing Miquel Salmeron as the new Division Director of Materials Sciences, the name of Lab Deputy Director Paul Alivisatos was misspelled in the first paragraph. We regret the error.