New Structure
For Nanomotors

Zettl

Physicists in the U.S. have built the first device that exploits the effects of surface tension. The "relaxation oscillator" consists of two droplets of liquid metal on a substrate made of carbon nanotubes and can be controlled with a small applied electric field. Alex Zettl and colleagues at UC Berkeley and Berkeley Lab say the device could find use in various nanomechanical applications, including actuators and motors. Full story.

Lab Joins New RNA
Research Consortium

Research into ribonucleic acids (RNA) — the building blocks of life — is exploding as scientists worldwide discover the roles of RNA in genetics, health, disease and the development of organisms. The rapidly growing body of knowledge has created the need for researchers to develop a shared vocabulary and system for describing, cataloging and comparing their findings. An international team of RNA scientists, known as the RNA Ontology Consortium — headed by Bowling Green University and including Berkeley Lab — has now been formed to do just that. Full story.

Stop by the cafeteria today from 3 to 4:30 p.m. to bid adieux to Pier Oddone, who is retiring from the Lab and will next serve as director of Fermi National Lab. Also note: the coffee bar will close at 1:30 p.m. today in preparation for the party.

	The old badge, left, and the new one.

Matis

The Boy Scouts of America is now offering a merit badge in Nuclear Science, thanks to the help of Howard Matis, a physicist with the Lab's Nuclear Science Division, and himself a former Eagle Scout. Matis provided expert assistance in updating the requirements and revising the text for what had been a pamphlet on the Atomic Energy merit badge. The new pamphlet teaches Scouts the fundamentals about nuclear science, atoms and radiation. Earning this new merit badge, however, will be a challenge, as candidates must choose from a list of activities that include building an electroscope or a cloud chamber. Go here to read the new badge requirements.