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Read the March/April 2010 edition of the Indiana Alumni Magazine with exclusive online content on the IU Alumni Association Web site.
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Caulobacter crescentus can be found as a sparse constituent of freshwater streams and lakes -- and tap water. The bacterium isn't dangerous, but marvelous. Somehow the species manages to eke out a living without access to much food. It also is capable of creating two kinds of cells -- "stalk" cells (the two cells in the lower part of the picture) and "swarmer" cells (the two cells above). Stalk cells possess a long, rigid organelle that attaches to rocks using an incredibly strong natural glue. Once anchored, the cells may produce mobile swarmers, which use their flagella to colonize faraway pebbles.
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Weighing Neutrinos
March 31, 2010
4-5 p.m.
Swain Hall West 119, IU Bloomington
Neutrino oscillation experiments performed throughout the latter half of the twentieth century have yielded valuable information on the nature of neutrino masses and mixings. The evidence gathered has provided the first positive evidence for physics beyond the standard model. As the next century begins, a new suite of precision experiments will come online to provide greater insight into the physics and significance of neutrino mass. As part of the Joseph and Sophia Konopinski Colloquia Series, MIT physicist Joseph A. Formaggio's talk will review our current state of knowledge on neutrino masses, and how new experiments will complement that knowledge in years to come. Refreshments will precede the lecture in Swain Hall West 113 at 3:30 p.m. The event is free. For more information, e-mail anfoley@indiana.edu.
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Scientists at Work: Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics
The Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics at Indiana University Bloomington turns 10 this year. CGB is somewhat more precocious than your average fifth-grader, however. While other 10-year-olds are learning about integers and African nations this fall, CGB will be busy mapping whole-organism genomes and bringing millions of dollars in research money to the state of Indiana. CGB was by the Office of the Vice President for Research and the College of Arts and Sciences with seed funding from the Indiana Genomics Initiative, or INGEN. IUB biologist Peter Cherbas is its first director. CGB staff are currently working on 60 projects with collaborators from IU and other institutions. The center occupies several thousand square feet in Jordan, Myers, and Simon halls and has grown from a handful of staff to 52 full- and part-time employees.
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Thanks to a successful proposal made by Indiana University senior research scientist Pauline Gagnon, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) on March 8 marked International Women's Day by staffing all control rooms of the world's largest physics laboratory with women. In addition to originating the idea, Gagnon, a senior research scientist in the IU College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Physics, also coordinated the effort that will mean the accelerators and detectors of the biggest physics lab in the world will all be run primarily by women.
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Women's responsiveness to the second-line breast cancer drug fulvestrant may depend on whether the cancer cells are expressing two key proteins, Indiana University Bloomington scientists report in this month's Cancer Biology & Therapy. Fulvestrant appeared to exert maximum anti-cancer effects in vitro when cells produced normal or elevated quantities of the cytokeratins CK8 and CK18, structural proteins that help give the nucleus its shape.
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The Indiana University Board of Trustees have approved the construction of a new Science and Engineering Laboratory Building on the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis campus. The Science and Engineering Laboratory Building at IUPUI is the first step in an effort to meet the space needs of the Schools of Science (SOS) and Engineering and Technology (E&T).
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Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have identified a mechanism used by the tuberculosis bacterium to evade the body's immune system and have identified a compound that blocks the bacterium's ability to survive in the host, which could lead to new drugs to treat tuberculosis. Zhong-Yin Zhang, Robert A. Harris Professor and chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and his colleagues revealed the biochemical processes that TB bacteria employ to subvert macrophages - key infection-fighting cells - in a recent early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. They also described a compound they have synthesized - I-A09 - that blocked the TB bacterium's activity in laboratory tests.
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Yves Brun, an Indiana University Bloomington microbiologist who has brought multidisciplinary rigor to the study of bacteria, has been elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. It is a major honor in Brun's field. Brun is invited to attend a special event at the American Society of Microbiology's annual meeting in San Diego. The American Academy of Microbiology is a division of the Society.
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More alcohol sales sites in a neighborhood equate to more violence, and the highest assault rates are associated with carry-out sites selling alcohol for off-premise consumption, according to new research released Feb. 21 by two Indiana University Bloomington professors. Using crime statistics and alcohol outlet licensing data from Cincinnati to examine the spatial relationship between alcohol outlet density and assault density, Department of Criminal Justice professor William Alex Pridemore and Department of Geography professor Tony Grubesic found that off-premise outlets appeared to be responsible for about one in four simple assaults and one in three aggravated assaults.
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The Feb. 16, 2009, issue of Discoveries featured IU School of Medicine geneticist Howard Edenberg and his interdisciplinary research on alcohol, alcohol metabolism, and alcoholism. Also featured were stories about wasp parasites, new teaching labs at IU Bloomington, a new agreement for the IU Research & Technology Corporation, enzymes and heart attacks, field opportunities for IPFW anthropology students, and the coming of Captain Kidd's "Great" cannon.
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Some recent titles by IU researchers
"The association between earlier age of first drink, disinhibited personality, and externalizing psychopathology in young adults," Addictive Behaviors, May 2010, by K.A. Zernicke, H. Cantrell, P.R. Finn, J. Lucas
"Nmp4/CIZ inhibits mechanically induced beta-catenin signaling activity in osteoblasts," Journal of Cell Physiology, May 2010, by Z. Yang Z, J.P. Bidwell, S.R. Young, R. Gerard-O'Riley, H. Wang, F.M. Pavalko
"PONDR-FIT: A meta-predictor of intrinsically disordered amino acids," Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, April 2010, by B. Xue, R.L. Dunbrack, R.W. Williams, A.K. Dunker, V.N. Uversky
"Can iron be teratogenic?" Biometals, April 2010, by E.D. Weinberg
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Read IU Bloomington undergraduates' scholar blogs. Housed on the IU Bloomington Office of Scholarships Web site, IU scholars blog about their experiences in classes, activities on campus, time with their friends and more.
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