Samoa, Campus Contract Helps AIDS-Cure Search

Samoan Ake Lilo prepares an anti-viral extract from bark of mamala tree.

The University of California, Berkeley, has signed an agreement with the Samoan government to isolate from an indigenous tree the gene for a promising anti-AIDS drug and to share any royalties from sale of a gene-derived drug with the people of Samoa. The agreement supports Samoa's assertion of national sovereignty over the gene sequence of Prostratin, a drug extracted from the bark of the mamala tree (Homalanthus nutans). "A microbial source for Prostratin will ensure a plentiful, high-quality supply if it is approved as an anti-AIDS drug," said Jay Keasling, head of the Synthetic Biology Department at Berkeley Lab. Full story.

Oceans Might Add
To Earth's Rock 'n' Roll
By Glennda Chui

Romanowicz

Scientists think they have found the source of a mysterious hum that reverberates through the Earth, too low for human ears to hear. They used to think it came from earthquakes, but even when there are no big quakes, the hum continues, a slow, steady slosh of waves around the planet. Now, researchers have pinpointed the source. The hum, they say, starts in the oceans, when winter storms whip the waves into a frenzy. "These waves interact with each other to create longer waves that reach deep into the ocean, all the way to the ocean floor,'' said UC Berkeley professor and Berkeley Lab earth scientist Barbara Romanowicz. Full story.

Correct Contact Info
For Meeting Notification

An article that appeared in Tuesday's edition of "Today at Berkeley Lab" on the need to fill out notification forms for certain meetings at the Lab listed the incorrect phone number for contact Jim Breckinridge. The correct number is x 4855.

Gray

The National Cancer Institute has awarded Berkeley Lab's Life Sciences Division over $2.5 million per year for the next five years to establish and administer a multidivisional, multi-institutional program in integrative cancer biology. The goal of the program — led by Life Sciences Division Director Joe Gray — is to develop and test a computational model of signaling networks involved in cancer, a model that can be used to identify patients who will respond to treatments targeted at these networks. Full story.

Runaround, Moore
Grant In Next 'View'

Steps to ensure your safe participation in the 27th annual Runaround next Friday, a recent grant of $2.38 million in support of supernova research at the Lab, and veteran nuclear scientist Lee Schroeder's trip to Washington D.C. as part of an Interagency Personnel Agreement are among the stories featured in this week's issue of The View. Also included is news on the latest research breakthroughs. Need a copy? Call x6862 to get one.

The latest Internet hoax is in the form of what looks like a message from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) announcing their plans to destroy all paper military records. The authentic-looking message tells veterans to quickly request a copy of the records before the alleged destruction process begins. A spokesperson for the NPRC has denied that this center plans to destroy any of the records that it has. Don't fall for this or any other of the many hoaxes that are spreading around the Internet.