university of california berkeley

Jupiter's rocky core bigger and icier, according to new simulati...

admin — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:00:00 -0600

(University of California - Berkeley) When Jupiter formed 4.5 billion years ago, rocks and ice combined to form a rocky core 14-18 times the mass of the Earth, according to a new simulation by UC Berkeley geophysicist Burkhard Militzer. This is twice what previous models predicted. Militzer employed a simulation technique designed to model the properties of semiconductors and now used for nanomaterials. This simulation also predicts few ices throughout the rest of the atmosphere.

Flexibility trumps fitness in sexual reproduction, says new theo...

admin — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 23:00:00 -0600

(University of California - Berkeley) An intriguing new theory of evolutionary biology says the reason sexual reproduction may be so successful is that it promotes genes that work well in combination with many other genes. This idea of genetic mixability hits on the difficulty evolutionary biologists have had in understanding sex, specifically its role in population genetics and natural selection.

Denser, more powerful computer chips possible with plasmonic len...

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500

(University of California - Berkeley) UC Berkeley engineers are reporting a new way of creating computer chips that could revitalize optical lithography, a patterning technique that dominates modern integrated circuits manufacturing. The researchers say this development could lead to ultra-high density disks that can hold 10 to 100 times more data than disks today.

NYU's Courant Institute receives $500,000 NSF grant to discover ...

admin — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500

(New York University) New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences and its institutional partners -- Stanford University, MIT and the University of California, Berkeley -- have each received a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to study the "learning algorithm of the brain."

UC Berkeley bioengineer to receive NIH New Innovator Award

admin — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0500

(University of California - Berkeley) Dr. Sanjay Kumar, assistant professor of bioengineering, is one of 31 recipients of the New Innovator Award, announced Sept. 22 by NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni. The award recognizes investigators who are in the early stages of their careers and who have not previously held regular research grants from the NIH.

How can China and the US work together to address climate change...

admin — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0500

(Federation of American Scientists) How can China and the United States work together to stop global climate change? What can the new US president do to help China become more energy efficient? The Federation of American Scientists will host a symposium to answer these questions at the University of California, Berkeley, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. PDT Thursday, Sept. 25.

New gecko-like adhesive shakes off dirt

admin — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0500

(University of California - Berkeley) UC Berkeley researchers have created the first gecko-like adhesive that cleans itself after each use without the need for water or chemicals. It's the latest milestone in the effort to create a synthetic version of the remarkable toe hairs that enable the acrobatic feats of the gecko lizard.

Brightest stellar explosion heralds new type of long-distance as...

admin — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0500

(University of California - Berkeley) Some 7.5 billion years ago, a supernova heralding the birth of a black hole went off halfway across the universe, sending a pencil-beam flash of light toward Earth that was briefly visible to the naked eye on March 19. UC Berkeley's Joshua Bloom and colleagues, who analyzed data from PAIRITEL and Gemini South to characterize the gamma-ray burst, see such bursts as a way to probe the early universe.

Scientists Reveal Effects of Quantum “Traffic Jam” in High-T...

admin — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:30:05 -0500

Scientists at Brookhaven Lab, in collaboration with colleagues at Cornell University, Tokyo University, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Colorado, have uncovered the first experimental evidence for why the transition temperature of high-temperature superconductors — the temperature at which these materials carry electrical current with no resistance — cannot simply be elevated by increasing the electrons’ binding energy.

New book tutors future presidents and public on science behind t...

admin — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500

(University of California - Berkeley) UC Berkeley physicist Richard A. Muller has transformed his popular course, "Physics for Future Presidents," into a popular book of the same name, providing a tutorial in the physics of nuclear weapons, nuclear power, terrorism and global warming essential for anyone aspiring to the Oval Office. His intent: to teach enough physics for a president to weigh the often partisan assessments of advisors, and to explain his or her reasoning to the public.