Rubin

Berkeley Lab Genomics Division head and Joint Genome Institute Director Eddy Rubin and a team of collaborators have secured a four-year, $11.6 million National Institutes of Health grant renewal to accelerate the development of and facilitate access to comparative genomics tools for heart, lung and blood research. These methods specifically focus on deciphering biomedically relevant features in the human genome. Full story.

Energy, Labor Open
Benefits Aid Center

The Departments of Energy and Labor will open a new Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) Resource Center in Livermore tomorrow.  An opening ceremony will be held at 2600 Kitty Hawk Road, Suite 101 in Livermore at 10 a.m. The resource center will assist current and former DOE employees, contractors, subcontractors, employees of atomic weapons companies and employees of designated beryllium vendors, as well as eligible survivors of employees filing for benefits under the EEOICPA. Full story.

One Week to Go
For Bus Shuttle Survey

If you are a Lab employee who uses the shuttle buses for transportation, then you owe it to yourself to fill out a customer survey now being conducted by the Facilities Division. This is the last week that riders have the opportunity to make their views known. Survey responses will help determine whether changes should be made to the current shuttle system. Go here to fill out an on-line form before the Friday deadline.

ATLAS Outreach, DNA,
Cool Roofs in New ‘Beat’

The latest issue of Berkeley Lab’s webzine “Science Beat” has been published, its features including physicist Michael Barnett’s responsibilities as outreach co-chair for the international ATLAS detector collaboration. Also in this month’s issue are stories about DNA fiber coils and replication, roofing colors that keep buildings cooler, and a biobot tool kit. Go here to read them.

Siri

Anyone who ever clung to the image of physics researchers as nerds who never leave the comfy confines of their labs should have met William Siri. The man helped define the meaning of science as adventure. Siri, who died last Tuesday at his Berkeley home at 85, was co-leader of the first American expedition to successfully climb Mount Everest. He was a leading researcher in biophysics at Berkeley Lab, a job that began after he helped create the atomic bomb as a member of the Manhattan Project from 1943 to 1945. He teamed up with John Lawrence — known as "the father of nuclear medicine" — to research technologies to help the human body. Full story (a profile of Siri will appear in Friday’s issue of The View).