Bissell

DNA 'Packaging'
Linked With Cancer

New laboratory findings at the University of Illinois at Chicago suggest that what lies outside cancer cells is at least as important as the genes inside in explaining a tumor's malignancy. The molecules that surround a cell play a crucial role in altering the packaging of its genome, opening it up to the machinery that allows genes to be expressed, or closing it down, according to a study published in the April issue of the American Journal of Pathology. Researchers involved in the study include Berkeley Lab life scientist Mina Bissell. Full story.

Compensation Training
Class For Managers

Managers and supervisors are invited to attend a class that will increase their baseline knowledge of the Lab's compensation programs. Roles, responsibilities and processes related to administration of the compensation program will be discussed, enabling attendees to discuss compensation programs with employees and make informed pay recommendations. The class is next Wednesday at 1 p.m. in Building 2-100B. Go here to register (HRS 1001).

Reminder: No Badges
Made This Morning

The badge office will be unable to create badges today from 8 a.m. to noon due to equipment upgrades. The office will be available for parking permits and other Site Access services. Contact Jim Breckinridge for more information.

Lab Scientists Help
With MICE Project

Neutrino radiation.

In the quest to unravel the characteristics of the mysterious neutrino particle, scientists are building a unique engineering technology demonstrator at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in England. Known as MICE (Muon Ionisation Cooling Experiment), the experiment will prove one of the key requirements to produce intense beams of neutrinos at a dedicated Neutrino Factory to be built later this decade. Mike Zisman, with the Lab's Accelerator and Fusion Research Division, is the deputy spokesperson for this project, which recently received nearly $19 million in funding. AFRD physicist Derun Li and engineers Steve Virostek and Mike Green (now retired) are also working on the experiment. Full story.

UC, New Mexico Colleges
To Form LANL Institute

The University of California and a consortium of New Mexico higher education institutions, led by the University of New Mexico, yesterday announced their intent to form an Institute for Advanced Studies affiliated with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). This institute would be established contingent on the University of California Board of Regents deciding to compete, and the university winning the contract, for continued management of the national laboratory. Full story.