http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/ Headlines from the University of California, Berkeley Steve McConnell - steve.mcconnell@berkeley.edu en-US http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/07/02_dna.shtml As the popularity of take-home DNA kits to trace ancestry or calculate the risk for serious medical conditions grows, there is an increasingly critical need for federal oversight of "direct-to-consumer" genetic testing, as well as of the use of DNA samples for research, according to researchers from UC Berkeley,and several other academic institutions. Published: 02 July http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/06/19_canoe.shtml A team of Berkeley civil-engineering students won the 22nd annual National Concrete Canoe Competition at the contest's June 11-13 finals in Tuscaloosa, Ala. June 11-13. It was the campus's fifth title in the remarkable battle of the boats, sometimes called the America's Cup of civil engineering. Published: 19 June http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/06/17_dusel.shtml UC Berkeley and Berkeley Lab plan to turn South Dakota's Homestake gold mine into a world-class science complex, with underground experiments in astrophysics, physics, biology and earth science. South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds, a big supporter of the effort, visited the campus and lab June 12 to cement the relationship and see what a large research complex looks like. Published: 17 June http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/06/10_graphene.shtml Graphene, which is a hexagonal sheet of carbon atoms, has been a hot subject of research since its isolation from graphite in 2004. That interest has paid off. UC Berkeley physicists have shown that two sheets of graphene slapped together can be made into a tunable electronic or photonic device, something unheard of with silicon or gallium arsenide semiconductors. Published: 10 June http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/06/09_betelim.shtml The red supergiant star Betelgeuse, which is so large it would extend to Jupiter's orbit in our solar system, has steadily shrunk over the past 15 years, according to UC Berkeley physicists. Since 1993, its radius has gone down by 15 percent, equivalent to the radius of Venus's orbit. Published: 09 June http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/06/08_darkGRB.shtml amma-ray bursts, with their ability to pierce through gas and dust to shine brightly across the universe, are revealing areas of intense star formation and stellar death where astronomers have been unable to look - the dusty corners of otherwise dust-free galaxies. Published: 08 June http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/06/02_webprivacy.shtml Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley's School of Information released a report late Monday (June 1) showing that the most popular Web sites all share data with their corporate affiliates and allow third parties to collect information directly by using tracking beacons known as "Web bugs" - despite the sites' claims that they don't share user data with third parties. Published: 02 June http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/05/27_radioSN.shtml Robotic telescopes now search the sky nightly for exploding stars, but not all supernovas are visible to optical, ultraviolet or X-ray telescopes. A supernova missed by other telescopes because these wavelengths were blocked by galactic gas and dust was discovered by radio telescopes in April, and turns out to be the nearest supernova in five years. Published: 27 May http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/05/19_setianniv.shtml A May 21 symposium celebrates the 10th birthday of the SETI@home project, the largest volunteer computing project in the world. Launched May 17, 1999, its dedicated followers continue to crunch radio data in search of intelligent signals from space. Published: 19 May http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/05/15_itest.shtml Thanks to a National Science Foundation grant, 12 Oakland Girl Scouts are now learning how to create online games centered around astronomy. The program's goal is to create a multi-user game called "The Universe Quest Game" in which girls around the world can safely interact and learn about science and technology. Published: 15 May http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/05/07_faruv.shtml NASA's final mission to the 17-year-old Hubble Space Telescope, which begins May 11, will deliver a new instrument partly built by UC Berkeley physicists to map the structure of the universe. Published: 07 May http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/04/28_NAS.shtml"> <rssT>Seven faculty members elected to NAS</rssT> </a> </span><br /> <rssD>Seven UC Berkeley faculty members are among 72 new members elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), one of the nation's most prestigious societies of scholars engaged in science and engineering research.</rssD> <br /> <span class="date">(<rssDt>28 April</rssDt>)</span> </p> <p><span class="headline"> <rssL><a href="http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/04/28_efrc.shtml The White House announced this week a major push to spur innovative energy research, including $777 million over five years from the Department of Energy. $30 million of this money will come to UC Berkeley and LBNL to investigate carbon capture and sequestration. Published: 28 April http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/04/23_keiling.shtml Tornadoes on Earth are among the most violent storms, capable of enormous destruction with wind speeds of 200 mph and more. Yet these are tiny compared to the "space tornados" that impress with plasma flow speeds of more than one million mph and beautiful auroras. Published: 23 April http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/04/01_vcrfleming.shtml Graham Fleming, the Melvin Calvin Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at UC Berkeley and former deputy director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, has been appointed the campus's vice chancellor for research. Published: 01 April http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2009/03/19_brekkeobit.shtml Tor L. Brekke, a UC Berkeley professor emeritus of geological engineering and a world-renowned scholar in tunneling, died on Friday, March 6, at his home in Berkeley. He was 75. Published: 19 March