Ridges on Mars suggest ancient flowing water

jpennypa — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:37:59 +0000

Ridges in impact craters on Mars appear to be fossils of cracks in the Martian surface, formed by minerals deposited by flowing water. Water flowing beneath the surface suggests life may once have been possible on Mars.

Fossilized hydrology

A 3-D image of an impact crater in the Nilosyrtis area on the Martian surface shows long pipe-like ridges, fossilized evidence of ancient subsurface water flow. Credit: NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

News URL:

http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2013/01/marswater

How plant communities endure stress

jpennypa — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:37:58 +0000

The Stress Gradient Hypothesis holds that as stress increases in an ecosystem, mutually supportive interactions become more significant and negative interactions, such as competition, become less so. The idea has been hotly debated but is now backed by a review of hundreds of studies co-authored in Ecology Letters by Mark Bertness, professor of biology at Brown, who first formally proposed the hypothesis in 1994. The time has come, he said, to test its application and predictive value.

Survival in a Cape Cod salt marsh

In isolation, seaweeds and barnacles could never survive the heat stress above the tides, but they can persist in groups. Organisms under stress — even competitors — are better off together than apart. Credit: Image courtesy of Bertness lab/Brown University

News URL:

http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2013/01/ecostress

Aging cells lose their grip on DNA rogues

jpennypa — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:37:58 +0000

Transposable elements are mobile strands of DNA that insert themselves into chromosomes with mostly harmful consequences. Cells try to keep them locked down, but in a new study, Brown University researchers report that aging cells lose their ability to maintain this control. The result may be a further decline in the health of senescent cells and of the aging bodies they compose.

A younger cell’s game

Cells control harmful transposons in DNA by wrapping them tightly around nucleosomes and packing them into chromatin fibers. The ability to maintain control of harmful transposons diminishes as cells age. Credit: Darryl Leja/National Human Genome Research Institute

News URL:

http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2013/01/senescence

Brown Engineering Student Cory Hargus Wins Award at National Collegiate Research Conference

jpennypa — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:37:57 +0000

Brown engineering student Cory Hargus ’13.5 has won an Award of Excellence and a $250 prize at the second annual National Collegiate Research Conference at Harvard on January 26, 2013. He entered the poster presentation competition with his research titled, “Solar Enriched Biofuels Via Oxidizable Metal Catalysts.” Hargus was one of more than 200 students entering the poster competition.

Cory Hargus

News URL:

http://brownengineering.blogspot.com/2013/01/brown-engineering-student-cory-hargus.html

Political Science Research: Racism Resurfaces

jpennypa — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 14:33:53 +0000

Assistant professor of political science, Michael Tesler's research, recently published in the Journal of Politics, presents that while President Barack had significant accomplishments in his first term, there is also a renewed alignment between political preference and racism in America.

News URL:

http://www.salon.com/2013/01/22/study_racism_up_post_obama/

Student’s curiosity produces ecological buzz

jpennypa — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 14:28:49 +0000

Tyler Coverdale’s newly published study in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment on the collapse of salt marsh habitats along Cape Cod tells an intriguing, if unfortunate, tale of how three different human activities spanning 70 years finally added up to a problem that no one anticipated.

Grazing without fear of predators

As recreational fishing eliminated its predators, the Sesarma was able to eat its way unchecked through acres of Spartina grass in Cape Cod salt marshes, eating away the marshes from the inside. Credit: Tyler Coverdale

News URL:

http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2013/01/coverdale

Mumford honored by BBVA

jpennypa — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 14:28:49 +0000

David Mumford, professor emeritus of applied mathematics at Brown, is one of the winners of the 2012 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the category of basic science. Based in Spain, the BBVA Foundation promotes scientific research of excellence by funding research projects, disseminating the results to society through diverse channels including symposia, workshops, lectures, publications, and exhibitions, and providing advanced training and research awards.

News URL:

http://news.brown.edu/shorts/2013/01/mumford-honored-bbva

Padture honored by IIT Bombay

jpennypa — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 14:28:49 +0000

Nitin Padture, professor of engineering, received a Distinguished Service Award from his undergraduate alma mater, the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay. Since 1999 the awards have been given to IIT Bombay alumni who have contributed in a notable and sustained manner to the progress of the Institute.

News URL:

http://news.brown.edu/shorts/2013/01/padture-honored-iit-bombay

Inaugural Recipients

jpennypa — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:20:56 +0000

News URL:

http://pembrokecenter.org/Seed_Grants.html

Light-sensitive trigger

jpennypa — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 14:18:24 +0000

Researchers have strengthened their understanding of how skin cells called melanocytes sense ultraviolet light and act to protect themselves with melanin. In a new study, they report experiments showing that an ion channel well-known elsewhere in the body for its chemical sensitivity, plays a central role in this process.

In search of a light-sensitive trigger

Certain skin cells respond to ultraviolet light by pumping out melanin, the pigment responsible for the tanning response. The hunt for a light-receptor mechanism outside the eye led to an ion channel called TRPA1. Credit: Mike Cohea/Brown University

News URL:

http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2013/01/trpa1

Underscoring Parent-Teacher Collaboration: School Improvement Video

jpennypa — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 14:18:23 +0000

A new video produced by Brown University’s Annenberg Institute for School Reform showcases organized Twin Cities parents working collaboratively with teachers to strengthen their schools, instead of pitting them as bitter enemies in an endless and unproductive blame game.

News URL:

http://annenberginstitute.org/news/2013/01/17/aisr-unveils-video-focused-school-improvement-through-parent-and-teacher-collaborati

Brown to top off $35M renovation project

jpennypa — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 21:02:12 +0000

Brown will celebrate the $35-million renovation of Hunter Laboratory as the Building for Environmental Research and Teaching at a topping-off ceremony Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013, at 10:30 a.m. The University will also sign a memorandum of understanding with Building Futures, a nonprofit organization that helps prepare low-income men and women in urban areas for careers in commercial construction. Mayor Angel Taveras and others will make brief remarks.

The Building for Environmental Research and Teaching

The last structural beam will be hoisted into place above the former Hunter Lab, a milestone in the $35-million renovation to create the Building for Environmental Research and Teaching.

News URL:

http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2013/01/bert

Recent News

Ridges on Mars suggest ancient flowing water

How plant communities endure stress

Aging cells lose their grip on DNA rogues

Brown Engineering Student Cory Hargus Wins Award at National Collegiate Research Conference

Political Science Research: Racism Resurfaces

Student’s curiosity produces ecological buzz

Mumford honored by BBVA

Padture honored by IIT Bombay

Inaugural Recipients

Light-sensitive trigger

Underscoring Parent-Teacher Collaboration: School Improvement Video

Brown to top off $35M renovation project