Scientist on the Move
At the Lab's Earth Fair

Perlmutter

Berkeley Lab physicist Saul Perlmutter was among those who test-drove the environmentally friendly Segway, which was on display at the Earth Fair on Friday. It is estimated that more than 800 people participated in the event, which took place on the lawn just outside the cafeteria. The event was coordinated by the Lab's Community Relations Office. More photos from the fair will appear in this Friday's issue of The View.

Undergrad Research
Talks on Thursday

Undergrad Natalie Katz with Lab mentor Terry Hazen

Undergraduate students who have been mentored by Lab scientists this past spring will present their technical talks on Thursday, between 9 and 11 a.m., in Building 2-100B. Topics include "Digital Signal Processing for Active Pixel Sensors," "Structural Analysis of Helical RNA," and "Measuring Algal Biomass and Rate of Growth by Chlorophyll Fluorescence." The program is coordinated by the Lab's Center for Science and Engineering Education.

Science Editor Gives
Campus Talk Thursday

Kennedy

Donald Kennedy, Science Magazine editor and Stanford professor, will deliver a talk on "Climate Change: Why We Can't Get There From Here" this Thursday at 7 p.m. in Sibley Auditorium (campus).

DNA samples were taken from sunken whale bones to determine the health of the surrounding environment

New Method for Testing Environmental Health

Research led by the Joint Genome Institute demonstrates for the first time that the signatures of the genes alone in terrestrial and aquatic samples can accurately diagnose the health of the sampled environments. This study, published in the April 22 edition of Science, positions large-scale genome sequencing to accelerate advances in environmental sciences akin to the contributions DNA sequencing has made to biomedical sciences. Dubbed Environmental Genomic Tags, or EGTs, these indicators capture a DNA profile of a particular niche and reflect the presence and levels of nutrients, pollutants, and other environmental features. Full story.

Presolar Grains Found
To Carry Extinction Line

Presolar grain

A team of researchers — including some from Berkeley Lab — has discovered what turns the lights out from space. Using sophisticated features on a transmission electron microscope, scientists have discovered that organic carbon and amorphous silicates in interstellar grains embedded within interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) are the carriers of the astronomical 2175 Å extinction line. Full story.