Department News

Below are articles from various sources about members of MCB and their research.

December 21, 2004

Nestled inside the human genome, there may be another secret code waiting to be deciphered. The human genome is now thought to contain 22,000 or so genes that code for proteins, the building blocks of life. But how are such a small number of genes programmed to embark on widely different paths of development?

December 07, 2004
Professor John Forte has been selected as a recipient of the 2003-2004 Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Research Excellence for the prevention & non-invasive therapy of gastrointestinal disorders.

Please visit the Sheikh Hamdan site for additional information about the award.

December 03, 2004

A pressure cooker with windows? That was the basic idea behind the bubble chamber, a powerful instrument for the study of atomic particles that led to a 1960 Nobel Prize in Physics for its inventor, UC Berkeley professor Donald Glaser.

November 15, 2004

UC Berkeley has been ranked as the second best University in the world in a survey by the Times Higher Education Supplement, a remarkable achievement for a public university.

The complete ranking are available at http://www.thes.co.uk/worldrankings/

November 05, 2004

Crammed inside every human cell are numerous strands of chromosomal DNA that, if laid end-to-end, would span a distance of about two meters. A special enzyme mechanically untangles the DNA, keeping our chromosomes from resembling a string of Christmas tree lights jammed into a box after the holiday. Someday, biochemist James Berger's efforts to understand the same enzyme in cancer cells could lead to new tumor-fighting drugs.

November 01, 2004

Assistant Professor Lu Chen has been awarded the prestigeous Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

For more information see:

Official Packard Announcement

October 26, 2004

Professor Hiroshi Nikaido will present this year's Roger Y. Stanier Memorial Lecture on Thursday November 4 in 100 Genetics & Plant Biology Building.

October 19, 2004

What happens when you touch a hot pan on the stove? You probably yell and yank your hand away. Between the sizzle and the scream though, an amazingly fast and complex cascade of cellular communication occurs inside your body.

To study the electrical intricacies of the nervous system, neurobiologist Ehud Isacoff is developing new optical methods that enable scientists to watch the cellular symphony unfold at the nanoscale.

October 05, 2004

The Department of Molecular and Cell Biology is seeking applications for four faculty positions.

Applications should include a curriculum vitae; a list of publications; a brief description of research accomplishments; a statement of research objectives and teaching interests; and reprints of three most significant publications. Please arrange to have three letters of reference sent to the address below. Applicants are expected to join the faculty July 1, 2005 or thereafter.