http://newscenter.berkeley.edu/ News headlines from the University of California, Berkeley Steve McConnell - smcconnell@berkeley.edu en-US http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/05/08_HIV.shtml A new policy analysis led by public health researchers at UC Berkeley and Harvard University says that the most common HIV prevention strategies — including condom use, HIV testing, vaccine research and abstinence — are not backed by rigorous studies and are having limited impact on the epidemic in Africa. More resources are needed for two less popular interventions — male circumcision and reduction of sexual partners — that have been proven effective, the researchers argue. http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/05/08_convocation.shtml Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist, the hip and ubiquitous classified advertising Web site, says he'll be winging his keynote speech to graduating seniors at UC Berkeley's Commencement Convocation next Tuesday, May 13. But overall, Newmark says he will urge students to change the world using the tools of the Internet, and to follow some simple business do's and don'ts. http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/05/08_medalist.shtml If there were an award for the world's most timid child, Leslie Chung-Lei Sheu would have won it as a youngster for her deep discomfort with the unknown. Today, after myriad challenges, the plucky, gregarious UC Berkeley senior is the winner of a much more fitting prize: the University Medal, honoring her scientific curiosity, academic success and empathy for the downtrodden. With video http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/05/07_bplan.shtml New search technology provider Implicit Interfaces and biotech venture Titan Medical tied for first place at the 10th annual UC Berkeley Business Plan Competition at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business. http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/05/07_cirmgrant.shtml The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has awarded $20.18 million to UC Berkeley to build centralized stem cell laboratories in a new research building, the Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences, now under construction. http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/05/07_kellerobit.shtml Cathleen "Candy" Keller, an associate professor of Egyptology in UC Berkeley's Department of Near Eastern Studies, died of pancreatic cancer on April 18 at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek. She was 62. http://sciencematters.berkeley.edu/archives/volume5/issue36/story2.php In Berkeley’s CiBER laboratory, students run cockroaches over an obstacle course to observe how traveling over rough terrain alters the insects’ neuromuscular signals. The lab contains state-of-the-art equipment devoted to helping students, visiting scientists, and others discover the secrets of nature’s designs. http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2008/05/06_parrot.shtml A new study led by a UC Berkeley biologist sheds light on the factors influencing the stalled growth of the severely endangered Puerto Rican parrot, and in turn, provides an analytical tool that could help pinpoint the biggest factors hindering the recovery of other endangered species. http://www.energybiosciencesinstitute.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=184&Itemid=7 The BP-funded Energy Biosciences Institute has awarded its first 49 research grants, totalling $20 million and including a significant number looking at the environmental, economic and societal impacts of meeting a growing portion of the world's energy needs through biofuels.