Office of
Biological and Environmental Research Weekly Report
March 31, 2008
International Polar Year Field Campaign to Study Effect of Aerosols on Arctic Clouds and Climate: During April 2008, researchers will descend on and above Barrow, Alaska, to obtain data from the atmosphere that will help them understand the impacts of aerosols on Arctic clouds and climate as part of the International Polar Year. The Indirect and Semi-Direct Aerosol Campaign, or ISDAC, which is jointly sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility, the National Research Council of Canada, and Environment Canada, includes an airplane equipped with more than 40 instruments to measure cloud and aerosol properties in the sky over the Arctic, while surface-based instruments at ARM sites in Barrow and Atqasuk, Alaska, are obtaining measurements from the ground.
Media Interest: Media
day briefings are scheduled to begin at 10am, April 14, at the
Contact: Wanda Ferrell, SC-23.3, (301) 903- 0043, Rick Petty, SC-23.3, (301) 903-5548
LBNL Mina Bissell Receives the
American Cancer Society’s Highest Award. LBNL scientist Mina Bissell will
receive the American Cancer Society (ACS) Medal of Honor for Basic Research
at a formal presentation scheduled for November 21, 2008. The Medal of Honor is the highest award given by the
American Cancer Society. It is presented to people who have made the most
outstanding and valuable contributions in cancer research,
clinical oncology, and to the public's understanding of cancer. This
is the latest of many honors awarded to Dr. Bissell for fundamental discoveries
on the role of the extracellular matrix (ECM) on gene expression in tissues,
and in particular the roles of ECM in modulating breast cancers. Bissell and collaborators showed that mammary
cells in culture only attained proper three-dimensional conformations and
behavior when embedded in ECMs. Moreover, the ECM has a potent inhibitory
role in cancer. Cells with otherwise
carcinogenic capability can be forced to behave normally when embedded in ECM.
These and related discoveries by the Bissell group have fundamentally
revolutionized many sectors of research into organ development and cancer.
Media Interest: No, already publicized
Contact:
Marvin Stodolsky, SC-23.2, (301) 903-4475