Discovery could lead to ‘molecular fountain of youth’

By Sarah Yang, UC Berkeley Media Relations A new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, represents a major advance in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind aging while providing new hope for the development of targeted treatments for age-related degenerative diseases. Researchers were able to turn back the molecular clock by infusing the blood stem cells of old mice with a longevity gene and rejuvenating the aged stem cells’ regenerative potential. The findings were published online today (Thursday, Jan. 31), in the journal Cell Reports. The biologists found that SIRT3, one among a class of proteins known as sirtuins, plays an important role in helping aged blood stem cells cope with stress. When they infused the blood stem cells of old mice with SIRT3, the treatment boosted the formation of new blood cells, evidence of a reversal in the age-related decline in the old stem cells’ function.

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Ann Guy
posted 2013-01-31 15:50:50

Vote Andaman Discoveries for the BBC World Challenge!

Hi CNR Students and Alums, I started a non-profit in Thailand back in 2005, and it has gone on to do great things. Recently, we were chosen as a finalist for the BBC World Challenge. If you can, please take 30 seconds to vote for us at their website, so we can keep up the good work! The website is The BBC World Challenge. Our connection to the villages comes from rebuilding our lives together, and our projects focus on the big picture, empowering people to define their own future. This means that, along with responsible tourism, we also support scholarships for 120 kids, reforestation, a community development network, and a lot more. Pardon the spiel if you've already heard it, but it's the real deal. Winning the World Challenge would mean a lot: the award will underwrite our projects, and the publicity will help us spread our message, which is always a challenge with a miniscule PR budget :) If you are excited by all this, feel free to post this message on your facebook account, blog, or email lists. With thousands of nominations annually, the World Challenge recognizes innovative business projects that increase investment into the local community and take a responsible approach to the environment in which they are operating. We were chosen by a jury of high-level executives from Shell, BBC World, the World Bank, IUCN, and Newsweek. So, if you could be so kind as to follow the link and vote for us, it would be of great service to our projects and the people they serve. Bodhi Garrett Director, Andaman Discoveries Coordinator, IUCN North Andaman Network Founder, North Andaman Tsunami Relief Link to Andaman Discoveries on the BBC World Challenge Press Release (PDF)

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Bodhi Garrett
posted 2009-10-14 08:27:19

69th day of Medical School

One of the greatest parts about medical school is having your questions answered. I remember all those times that I couldn't understand why a person was the way they were or what disability a person had.... It helps to finally have your questions answered. ---sometimes I wonder about how much is appropriate to write on this site. Patient confidentiality and such. Sorry about the vagueness. Anatomy lab is.. _______. We have our practical (where they tag stuff on the bodies and we look at it and name it) in 2 weeks so I've been spending more time in lab. The smell was alright at first. I'm getting more sensitive to it though. hum ho. It stays in my hair like crazy. I've been washing it as soon as I get home. I feel kinda sorry for the guy sitting next to me in class. (He doesn't have anatomy lab on the same day as me, and sometimes I go in the morning just for kicks). The other day,.... I said, "Man...anatomy... I want to nap [during 10 min break] but I can't because I smell. Maybe I should go change." He said, "Yeah, you do smell." heh.. whooppps... I should bring a change of clothes more often.

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K. Lee
posted 2009-10-10 23:15:15

Adventures in Microscopy

While I was an undergraduate in Genetics & Plant Biology, I took Plant and Animal Microtechnique, a course taught by Dr. Steve Ruzin and Dr. Denise Schichnes at CNR's Biological Imaging Facility.   With the microwave paraffin embedding techniques that I learned in that course, I was able to create images like this:

Bok Choi (Brassica rapa) flower cross-section stained with Sharman's


I've taken the skills that I learned with that solid introduction to microtechnique, and with my graduate work I have moved on to electron microscopy.

This semester I'm taking two courses through the Electron Microscopy Facility at Miami University. One is a lecture course on Electron Microscopy Theory, and the other is on Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) techniques.

Here's a picture of our instructor Matt Duley with the microscope I'm currently learning to use:


I'm learning the basics - everything from plant sample preparation to operating the microscope.  I'll even learn backscatter technique.

The best part about training with the EMF at Miami is that there are no expensive lab fees associated with their courses - and anyone who has a project in mind and a subject they'd like to image can sign up.  They're available not only to those in the biological sciences, but also to geologists, structural engineers, physicists, artists, and more.

Here are a few pictures I've taken with the JEOL 840A.

Tin Balls



Gear from a wristwatch




Trichomes of a geranium leaf

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Christina
posted 2009-10-09 08:31:33

Shoutout from Alaska!

Hello alumni from the past, and I mean some time ago. As I near 60 years old, I give myself a chance to see what has changed over the years in Forestry, Plant Pathology, and Entomology I am truly amazed. Many old buddies have retired or are thinking of it and others like me with a second family (X and Y generations) are still going strong, maybe not as strong as they used to. I still get out in the woods in Alaska. This year was busy with felling hazardous trees, doing bark beetle projects, and climbing over downfall. I pride myself in knowing how to put a rudimentary GIS layer together, make what I can out of communicating on facebook and twitter, and sending a letter now and again. Best wishes to the graduates of '72.

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Mark E. Schultz
posted 2009-10-01 20:46:32

Annual Alumni Association Meeting

Annual Meeting: October 3, 2009 Saturday, October 3, 2009 10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Giannini Hall Foyer Agenda Items:

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Eva St. Clair
posted 2009-09-25 11:14:27

From CRS to Chocolate, and so much in between!

A lot has happened since graduating from Cal in 1999. I was one of those re-entry students when I arrived at Cal in 1997 and had been involved with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area’ s park restoration program and had also been deeply involved in City College of San Francisco’s biology and ecology departments. At one point I was the college liaison for the Park Service, conducting class presentations in order to entice students to volunteer for restoration activities in the Marin Headlands. It helped that some instructors offered extra credit for such noble activities. Not to mention that views of the city from the Headlands were amazing! After arriving at Cal, I immersed myself in classes and campus life, enjoying the fact that I did not have to work while going to school full-time-wow what a concept. My two years at Cal went very quickly and I often found myself wishing that I could have been there for the full four years - but I guess there is always graduate school. I was part of the well known CRS program (Conservation and Resource Studies) and was able to construct my own curriculum around my passion at the time, which was wetlands and wetland restoration. During my last semester, I took a class taught by some outside environmental consultants that focused on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). I liked the fact that the class focused on various aspects of the environmental world, including policy, permitting, planning, and various environmental resource areas. chocolates1.jpg Upon graduation, I hit the ground running trying to find an entry-level job in the environmental consulting field. I eventually landed a job with a small consulting firm in Oakland that was working closely with the Navy on clean-up activities at various Navy facilities in the Bay Area. I quickly learned that not all environmental consulting was created equal. This particular firm focused on health and risk management-which meant lots of number crunching, something I did not find very interesting. Several months later I left after taking a job with yet another firm, doing more of the type of work I was interested in - my first project included working with US Coast Guard. Fast forward several years and I found myself feeling unchallenged creatively; much of consulting work includes reviewing documents written by specialists in other fields (e.g. traffic specialists, geologists, hydrologists, etc) and incorporating that information into a document that will ultimately be used by lawmakers to approve or deny a project. I ultimately figured out that I needed to find something creative in order to balance out the more cerebral part of my life. I started baking, something I used to do when I was a kid, in the kitchen with my grandmother. I also started taking classes in baking thinking that I might want to become a pastry chef. Somewhere along the way, I also began incorporating chocolate into the recipes and was constantly asked by friends to provide the chocolate desserts for their special events.

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Dennis Kearney
posted 2009-09-23 22:15:50

Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences

I can't believe that I've been in medical school for more than a month now. Here at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, Kansas City, Missouri, I've been learning everything from anatomy, biochemistry, embryology, histology, immunology, microbiology, pathology, pharmacology, and physiology. With my Molecular Toxicology background, most of the subjects come to me quite easily. The hardest ones for me are Immunology and Anatomy. I've never been good at blatant memorization (Anatomy/Microbio). The end part of immunology is great for me because we learned alot about apoptosis and necrosis (yay death domains!) with NST 110. For anyone with a MolTox major, take an extra upper div class in Immuno. Microbio in medical school takes a semi-different perspective from the Microbio I had (the PH one~one of the two microbio major req fullfilling classes that we have as a MolTox) since that one was more about etiology and currently in med school we're going from the lab test perspective. I did my first Gram stain two days ago. The hardest part about being well prepared for med school is... LAZINESS. I had my buddy change my facebook account pswd because I was getting ... sidetracked. We have a final on Tuesday (and another on Thursday). ^^ hahah. yay..... ::cries in the corner:: I'm sure y'all at Berkeley don't have any exams until the end of this month right? Have fun meeting people still while I suffer here. Miss y'all. Pray for me!

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Kristin Lee
posted 2009-09-10 09:30:29

"...It is an art."

My professor Dr. Johnston constantly reminds us, "Medicine is an art. It's not black or white. It is an art." I used to think that medicine was like everything else. You stick in A+B+C and output = V. But it isn't...it's A+B+Z+K-J = possible D or N or M+O

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K. Lee
posted 2010-01-26 07:09:42

Meeting the Interim President

The old president/CEO of my old (1916) esteemed institute KCUMB, left and the current president is just awesome. In these past couple months, he's proved to be much more accessible than the previous president. He's had these morning breakfast Meet-the-President events where students can go and have free yummy goodness breakfast and talk to him. I went to one of them on Thursday. Food; quiche, strawberries, donuts. That quiche was so crazy good. But more importantly, being able to talk to the President/CEO about what's going on with our program. He spent 20-30 min at my table of 10. We told him what we wanted, asked him about how certain things were going, and other. Most importantly, he told us that our tuition is going to stay the same or reduce for the next year. (Yes yes, the rest of you at Berkeley are in pain because of those 15% increases in tuition.) That was exciting news. The faculty have also been quite supportive too. Anyone (students or faculty), can just walk in and ask to talk to him. How cool is that? I've never tried it with the Cal Chancellor, but just being able to is awesome. =)

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K. Lee
posted 2010-01-23 09:39:18