Math Institute Serves as Bridge for Pure and Applied Mathematics

sely — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:00:58 +0000

The National Science Foundation features ICERM in the Discoveries section of their website as a place where the "best mathematical minds from around the world collaborate on projects with a strong computational component." Jill Pipher, professor of mathematics and Institute director describes how the areas of pure and applied mathematics are coming closer together.

Jill Pipher directs Brown University's Institute for Computational an Experimental Research in Mathematics (ICERM), a National Science Foundation funded institute. Credit: Brown University

News URL:

http://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=127979&WT.mc_id=USNSF_1

A new approach to spinal muscular atrophy?

jpennypa — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:42:43 +0000

Spinal muscular atrophy is a debilitating neuromuscular disease that in its most severe form is the leading genetic cause of infant death. By experimenting with an ALS drug in two very different animal models, researchers at Brown University and Boston Children’s Hospital have identified a new potential mechanism for developing an SMA treatment.

Anne Hart

“We’re not suggesting ... that SMA patients should ask their doctors for Riluzole, but we are suggesting that this pathway would be useful for therapeutic development.”

News URL:

http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2013/04/sma

The Genetics of Autism: For Some Families, An Explanation At Last

jpennypa — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:35:25 +0000

Professor Eric Morrow spends his working life doing very different things. One day, Professor Morrow—to be precise, assistant professor of both biology and psychiatry, member of the Brown Institute for Brain Science (BIBS), and director of the Developmental Disorders Genetics Research Program at Brown and Bradley Children’s Hospital—might be in a biochemistry lab. He’ll be peering at cell samples, or running a white machine that looks like a dorm fridge but can sequence an entire human genome in a matter of days.

News URL:

http://giving.brown.edu/stories/genetics-autism-some-families-explanation-last

Brainwaves reflect ability to beat built-in bias

jpennypa — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:35:25 +0000

Many animals, including humans, harbor ingrained biases to act when they can obtain rewards and to remain inactive to avoid punishment. Sometimes, however those biases can steer us wrong. A new study finds that theta brainwave activity in the prefrontal cortex predicts how well people can overcome these biases when a better choice are available.

Telltale brainwaves

Choosing an action that is counter to habit takes specific brain activity (detected as brainwaves in blue) but it can be done. The research could prove useful in treating addiction. Credit: Michael Frank and James Cavanagh/Brown University

News URL:

http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2013/05/theta

Advance in tuberous sclerosis brain science

jpennypa — Thu, 09 May 2013 22:23:29 +0000

By manipulating the timing of disease-causing mutations in the brains of developing mice, Brown University researchers have found that early genetic deletions in the thalamus may play an important role in course and severity of the developmental disease tuberous sclerosis complex. Findings appear in the journal Neuron.

Brain disrupted

Neurons from the thalamus of control mice with healthy genes glow green (left), while those whose two Tsc1 alleles were deleted during embryonic development show a strong red glow (right), indicating disruption of the mTOR pathway that regulates growth. Credit: Zervas Lab/Brown University

News URL:

http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2013/05/tuberous

Moon’s long-lived magnetic field

jpennypa — Thu, 09 May 2013 22:23:29 +0000

James W. Head, the Louis and Elizabeth Scherck Distinguished Professor of Geological Sciences, was part of a research team that has shown that the Moon had a surprisingly strong magnetic field 3.56 billion years ago. Samples of that age recovered during the Apollo 11 mission showed signs of having been magnetized by a stable field, the new research found. That suggests that the field persisted for at least 160 million years longer than researchers had previously thought. The new finding enables scientists to rule out one possible source for the field.

News URL:

http://news.brown.edu/shorts/2013/05/moon-s-long-lived-magnetic-field

ICERM goes to Washington, DC

jpennypa — Thu, 09 May 2013 22:23:29 +0000

Representatives from ICERM were among the presenters at an exhibition sponsored by the Coalition for National Science Funding held on May 7 in Washington, D.C. The exhibition, titled “Investments in STEM Research and Education: Fueling American Innovation,” aimed to illustrate the value of the federal investment in basic science research to Members of Congress and their staffs.

Sastry Pantula, director of the Division of Mathematical Science of the National Science Foundation (left) and Cora Marrett, director of the National Science Foundation (right)

News URL:

http://news.brown.edu/shorts/2013/05/icerm-goes-washington

Moon and Earth have common water source

jpennypa — Thu, 09 May 2013 22:23:29 +0000

Researchers used a multicollector ion microprobe to study hydrogen-deuterium ratios in lunar rock and on Earth. Their conclusion: The Moon’s water did not come from comets but was already present on Earth 4.5 billion years ago, when a giant collision sent material from Earth to form the Moon.

Water rights: Earth and Moon share a source

About 4.5 billion years ago when a giant collision sent a disc of debris from Earth to form the Moon, some of Earth’s water traveled along. Geochemist Alberto Saal and colleagues used isotopic composition as a fingerprint to trace the history. Credit: Mike Cohea/Brown University

News URL:

http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2013/05/moonwater

Karniadakis given 2013 Oden Medal

jpennypa — Wed, 08 May 2013 22:19:10 +0000

George Karniadakis, professor of applied mathematics, has been selected by the U.S. Association for Computational Mechanics as the recipient of the 2013 J. Tinsley Oden Medal (formerly known as the USACM Computational and Applied Sciences Award). The award is given to scholars whose work significantly advances the understanding of theories and methods of computational science, engineering, and mathematics that have broad applicability to computational mechanics.

News URL:

http://news.brown.edu/shorts/2013/05/karniadakis-given-2013-oden-medal

David Savitz Named VP for Research

sely — Tue, 07 May 2013 17:39:57 +0000

Brown University has named David Savitz, currently professor of epidemiology in the Brown School of Public Health and professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the Alpert Medical School, as its next vice president for research. Savitz will begin his new post Sept. 1, 2013, succeeding Clyde Briant.

David Savitz

Vice President for Research, effective Sept. 1, 2013 Credit: Mike Cohea/Brown University

An efficient nectar mop: Bats use blood to reshape tongue for feeding

jpennypa — Mon, 06 May 2013 22:16:58 +0000

Brown University scientists have found that a species of bat uses blood flow to reshape its tongue while feeding. The quick dynamic action makes the tongue an effective “mop” for nectar and could even inspire new industrial designs. Findings are reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A natural nectar mop

Hovering at a flower demands enormous energy. Blood flow in their tongue tips allows bats to extend hair-like papillae instantly, increasing the tongue’s length and surface area and thus the amount of nectar lapped up in a single stroke. Credit: Cally Harper in the Brainerd-Swartz Lab/Brown University

News URL:

http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2013/05/tongue

OVPR Awards 25 Research Grants

sely — Fri, 03 May 2013 18:49:03 +0000

Forty Brown researchers and scholars are receiving University research awards through eight Research Seed grants and 17 Richard B. Salomon Faculty Research Awards, with awards totaling more than $760,000.

Research Seed Grant awardees at the University Awards Ceremony. Credit: Peter Goldberg

Algorithms find genetic cancer networks

jpennypa — Wed, 01 May 2013 21:55:23 +0000

Researchers at Washington University in St., Louis, using powerful algorithms developed by computer scientists at Brown University, have assembled the most complete genetic profile yet of acute myeloid leukemia, an aggressive form of blood cancer. Findings are reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

An interactive catalog of genetic mutations

The genetic profile of a given cancer can involve mutations of different genes in different patients. Dendrix, a powerful algorithm, can search enormous datasets for associations of genetic mutations, any one of might cause disease. Credit: Department of Computer Science

News URL:

http://news.brown.edu/pressreleases/2013/05/dendrix

Dual infections harm tissues

jpennypa — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 21:33:13 +0000

Amanda Jamieson, newly hired assistant professor of biology, is the lead author of a paper in Science Express April 25 that traces the reason why dual infection of first a virus and then bacteria can be so deadly. In a series of experiments, she and colleagues at Yale and her current institution, the University of Vienna, used a mouse model of flu and then Legionella pneumophila to investigate what makes the combination so troublesome. The team ruled out possibilities including impaired resistance to the pathogens or an overzealous immune response.

News URL:

http://news.brown.edu/shorts/2013/04/dual-infections-harm-tissues

Avoid a Cinnamon Challenge

jpennypa — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:29:07 +0000

Who would have guessed that the Internet-aided teen video craze of trying to swallow a tablespoon of cinnamon could lead to significant respiratory harm? Brown University sophomore Amelia Grant-Alfieri, that’s who. As a teen herself working with co-authors at the University of Miami, Grant-Alfieri wrote a paper published this week in the journal Pediatrics that reports: “Cinnamon inhalation can cause pulmonary inﬂammation, predisposing airways to epithelial lesions and scarring.

News URL:

http://news.brown.edu/shorts/2013/04/avoid-cinnamon-challenge

Recent News

Math Institute Serves as Bridge for Pure and Applied Mathematics

A new approach to spinal muscular atrophy?

The Genetics of Autism: For Some Families, An Explanation At Last

Brainwaves reflect ability to beat built-in bias

Advance in tuberous sclerosis brain science

Moon’s long-lived magnetic field

ICERM goes to Washington, DC

Moon and Earth have common water source

Karniadakis given 2013 Oden Medal

David Savitz Named VP for Research

An efficient nectar mop: Bats use blood to reshape tongue for feeding

OVPR Awards 25 Research Grants

Algorithms find genetic cancer networks

Dual infections harm tissues

Avoid a Cinnamon Challenge