Rice Catalyst, the Rice University undergraduate science research journal, hosted the fourth annual TEDx RiceU at Herring Hall 100 on Saturday, April 12. The speakers included Rebecca Richards-Kortum, professor of bioengineering, David Dickman, adjunct professor of psychology, Cyrus Mody, assistant professor of history, Junghae Suh, assistant professor of bioengineering, Charles Chang, lecturer of linguistics, and Nathan Jones, postdoctoral research associate of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy. [TEDx RiceU is an] independent TED Talk, Amber Mirajkar, Rice Catalyst co-editor in chief, said. It is usually hosted officially by individual organizations. [The talks] are 15 minutes long about any ideas that are worth spreading. We, as an organization, host TED by ourselves, but we are under their umbrella. We have the same format, a general theme, the same amount of time. Our theme is sharing the vision. According to Mirajkar, a Duncan College senior, hosting TEDx RiceU is in accordance with Catalysts mission of making science and research accessible. We want for Rice students to get exposed to more professors on campus because, [most] of the time, not all professors research is known to Rice students, Mirajkar said. Especially for those freshmen and sophomores who would like to … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 16-Apr-2014 Contact: Tom Abate tabate@stanford.edu 650-736-2245 Stanford University Medical Center STANFORD, Calif. Consider the marvel of the embryo. It begins as a glob of identical cells that change shape and function as they multiply to become the cells of our lungs, muscles, nerves and all the other specialized tissues of the body. Now, in a feat of reverse tissue engineering, Stanford University researchers have begun to unravel the complex genetic coding that allows embryonic cells to proliferate and transform into all of the specialized cells that perform myriad biological tasks. A team of interdisciplinary researchers took lung cells from the embryos of mice, choosing samples at different points in the development cycle. Using the new technique of single-cell genomic analysis, they recorded what genes were active in each cell at each point. Though they studied lung cells, their technique is applicable to any type of cell. "This lays out a playbook for how to do reverse tissue engineering," said Stephen Quake, PhD, the Lee Otterson Professor in the School of Engineering and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. The researchers' findings are described in a paper published online April 13 in Nature. Quake, who also is a … Continue reading →

News Release Adam Arkin (photo by Roy Kaltschmidt) Adam Arkin, director of Berkeley Labs Physical Biosciences Division (PBD) and a biologist who is recognized as a leading authority on the evolutionary design principles of cellular networks and populations and their application to systems and synthetic biology, has been named one of six recipients of the 2013 Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award by U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. The E.O. Lawrence Award, the Department of Energy (DOE)s highest scientific honor, is recognizing Arkin for his work advancing biological and environmental sciences. In announcing the awards, Secretary Moniz said, The Lawrence Award recipients announced today have made significant contributions to the national, economic and energy security of the United States strengthening U.S. leadership in discovery and innovation. I congratulate the winners and thank them for their work on behalf of the Department of Energy and the Nation. Said Berkeley Lab director Paul Alivisatos, himself a winner of the 2006 Lawrence Award, Adam Arkin has been at the forefront in the scientific fields of systems and synthetic biology. He has made major contributions to our general understanding of the evolutionary design principles behind cellular networks and populations, and how these principles might be applied … Continue reading →