Tag Archives: university of california

Berkeley Lab to Build Cost Model for Fuel Cells

By Guest PostNovember 2, 2011Scienceadam weber, analytica, ballard power systems, benefits of fuel cells, berkeley lab, carbon cycle 2, chris marnay, coal, eric masanet, fossil fuels, fuel cell design, fuel cell manufacturer, fuel cells, geographic factors, human health benefits, ideal energy source, jim mcmahon, julie chao, kilowatts, lawrence berkeley national laboratory, max wei, model, power from hydroelectricity, powerful public tool, software platform, university of california, washington state, west virginia

*A $2-million award from DOE will help bring down the cost of next-generation fuel cells.*

Fuel cells seem like an ideal energy source—they’re clean, efficient, silent and don’t require transmission lines. The hitch? They can be costly. Now scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) hope to change that equation by building a sophisticated cost model that will take into account the total cost of ownership.

With a $2-million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, a team of scientists led by Eric Masanet will perform a detailed assessment of fuel cell design and manufacturing that takes into account both intrinsic and external benefits. The aim is to quantify not only traditional manufacturing costs but also benefits that may previously have been overlooked and may ultimately bring down the cost of fuel cells. (more…)

West Nile Virus Transmission Linked with Land-Use Patterns and “Super-spreaders”

By Guest PostOctober 22, 2011Scienceagricultural fields, american robin, atlantic in an airplane, bird hosts, disease causing organisms, ecology of infectious diseases, Environment, house sparrows, human activities, human infections, key species, knowledge, land use, marm kilpatrick, mosquito borne, mosquito vectors, national science foundation, new york, north and south america, nsf, robins, sam scheiner, santa cruz, tick borne viruses, transmission rates, united states, university of california, west nile virus

*Spread highest in urbanized and agricultural habitats*

After its initial appearance in New York in 1999, West Nile virus spread across the United States in just a few years and is now well established throughout North and South America.

Both the mosquitoes that transmit it and the birds that are important hosts for the virus are abundant in areas that have been modified by human activities.

As a result, transmission of West Nile virus is highest in urbanized and agricultural habitats. (more…)

New Method helps Researchers Zero in on Drugs that can kill Brain Cancer Stem Cells

By Guest PostOctober 17, 2011Health, Sciencebiobehavioral sciences, brain cancer, brain tumors, dr. harley kornblum, glioblastoma, identify chemical compounds, jonsson cancer center, kill the stem cells, malignancies, molecular cancer therapeutics, new cancer drugs, new screening approach, seven chemical libraries, treatment-resistant, tumor cells, typical screening, ucla's jonsson comprehensive cancer center, university of california

Researchers with UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed a new screening approach to identify chemical compounds that can target and kill the stem cells responsible for creating deadly brain tumors.

Glioblastoma is one of the deadliest malignancies, typically killing patients within 12 to 18 months. These brain cancers consist of two kinds of cells: a larger, heterogeneous population of tumor cells and a smaller sub-population of stem cells, which are treatment-resistant. (more…)

Clinical Trial Uncovers Potential ‘Functional Cure’ for HIV/AIDS

By Guest PostOctober 12, 2011Healthantiviral effect, biallelic zfn-modification, ccr5 gene, clinical trial, dr. ronald mitsuyasu, functional cure for hiv/aids, highly active antiretroviral therapy (haart), interscience conference on antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy, non-responders, sangamo biosciences phase, sb-728-t, university of california, university of pennsylvania school of medicine

Data shows Correlation between New Therapeutic Approach, Viral Load Reduction

Data from a clinical trial involving UCLA researchers suggest that a new therapy may potentially serve as a “functional cure” for HIV/AIDS.

The therapy, called SB-728-T, involves the modification of both copies of a patient’s CCR5 gene, which encodes the major co-receptor used by HIV to infect immune system cells.

In the Sangamo BioSciences’ phase 1 trial, SB-728-T was given to HIV patients who were on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) but were considered to be “non-responders” — that is, their CD4+ T-cell levels, a key measure of immune system health, remained low. The patients’ HAART therapy was interrupted when they received the SB-728-T therapy. (more…)

Charles P. Sonett: the Legacy of a Pioneering Space Scientist

By Guest PostOctober 9, 2011Scienceames magnetic fields explorer, apollo program, arizona board of regents, astronomy, Berkeley, bernhard schmidt, charles chuck p sonett, charles p sonett, charles p sonett space sciences building, chuck, cycle, death valley, desert town, estonian optician, explorer 33 and 35, explorer program, geology, geophysical measurements, george willis ritchey, gerard p kuiper, global climate, henri jacques chrétien, hollywood high school, hungarian parents, j randy jokipii, japanese bombing of pearl harbor, los angeles, lpl, lunar and planetary laboratory, lunar orbiter magnetometer experiment, magnetosphere, michael j drake, pittsburgh, post apollo era, ritchey chrétien telescope, schmidt telescope, solar wind, space race, spacecraft, spacecraft missions, sputnik, stream of charged particles, sun, telescope optics, trona, university of california, us army air forces

*Charles P. Sonett, the first head of the UA’s department of planetary sciences, died at the age of 87. Sonett was involved in spacecraft missions that dramatically advanced our understanding of the solar system and beyond, including the Pioneer Program, the Explorer Program and the Apollo Program.*

Charles “Chuck” P. Sonett, a founding faculty member and the first department head of the University of Arizona’s department of planetary sciences, died on Sept. 30. He was 87.

As a space exploration pioneer, Sonett was involved in numerous spacecraft programs, including the Pioneer Program, the Explorer Program and the Apollo Program – missions that dramatically advanced our understanding of the solar system, its planets and moons and beyond. (more…)

Rising Carbon Dioxide Levels at End of Last Ice Age Not Tied to Pacific Ocean, As Had Been Suspected

By Guest PostOctober 9, 2011Environmentalan mix, carbon dioxide, co2 levels, coast of southwestern oregon, continental ice sheets, david lund, deep ocean, glacial times, heat trapping greenhouse gas, irvine, john southon, last ice age, levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, microscopic shells, oregon state university, paleoclimatologist, plankton, radiocarbon dating, reservoir of carbon during glacial times, sediment core, university of california, university of michigan, ventilation rate

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— After the last ice age peaked about 18,000 years ago, levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide rose about 30 percent. Scientists believe that the additional carbon dioxide—a heat-trapping greenhouse gas—played a key role in warming the planet and melting the continental ice sheets. They have long hypothesized that the source of the gas was the deep ocean.

But a new study by a University of Michigan paleoclimatologist and two colleagues suggests that the deep ocean was not an important source of carbon during glacial times. The finding will force researchers to reassess their ideas about the fundamental mechanisms that regulate atmospheric carbon dioxide over long time scales. (more…)

Rich Country, Poor Country: Economists say Financial Sector Key Driver of Economic Growth

By Guest PostOctober 3, 2011Economyamerican economic review, computer-based economic model, economic growth, economic landscapes, emerge from poverty, federal reserve bank, finance and development, financial sector key driver of economic growth, francisco j. buera, jennifer roche, joseph kaboski, minneapolis, poor country, relationship between development and finance, rich country, ucla, university of california, uUniversity of notre dame, washington university, yongseok shin

Economists have long suspected that one reason developing countries struggle to emerge from poverty is that they lack robust financial sectors, especially when compared to wealthier nations.

Although it may seem obvious that a weak financial sector would stifle growth within a developing country, few economists until now have tried to determine just how this phenomenon occurs. This has made it difficult for policymakers and investors to understand how financial markets may be failing and to create effective solutions to correct them.

Economists Francisco J. Buera of UCLA and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Joseph Kaboski of the University of Notre Dame, and Yongseok Shin of Washington University in St. Louis present important insights into this phenomenon in a paper recently published in the journal American Economic Review. (more…)

Anderson Forecast: U.S. Economy stalled, Employment ‘Horrible,’ but No New Recession

By Guest PostSeptember 25, 2011Economycoastal california, david shulman, domestic product growth, edward leamer, far worse, forecast economists remain, intellectual capital, no recession alarm, stall speed, the california forecast, the national forecast, ucla anderson forecast, university of california

In its third quarterly report of 2011, the UCLA Anderson Forecast says the outlook for the nation’s economy is “far worse” than it was just three months ago.

Considering the weak, revised data for the first half of the year, the forecast calls for average gross domestic product growth of just 0.9 percent on average for the five quarters — this year’s four and the first quarter of 2012.

However, Forecast economists remain steadfast in their assertion that the U.S. is not currently in a recession, nor is there a recession in the forecast through 2013. (more…)