http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/ Alumni of UC Berkeley's College of Natural Resources share their stories en Copyright 2013 Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:50:50 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 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. ]]> http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2013/01/discovery_could_lead_to_molecu.php http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2013/01/discovery_could_lead_to_molecu.php Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:50:50 -0800
As portrayed in the news, Honduras is a place of economic struggle and a challenged education system. Despite the country’s strife, Lolita and I decided to visit the area and were relieved to find evidence that efforts are being made to help the country’s children. Cerro Grande (the Big Hill) is a small elementary school located in a low income neighborhood in Tegucigalpa, the country’s capital. Incorporating entrepreneurship and small business management into the regular academic curriculum, this school is striving to change the outcome for its students. Under the leadership of the director, Professora Irma Lopez, the school staff has taken limited resources and a lot of creativity to develop school gardens and create workshops topics ranging from food preparation and manufacturing to carpentry and handicrafts for the home. Teachers work alongside students to produce goods for the local markets to earn money for the school’s needs while teaching reading, writing, mathematics, science, health and computer skills. The organization incorporates all grade levels, from first through sixth, and all students, boys and girls, into a comprehensive program recognized as a pioneer in elementary education.
We were met by Silvia Zavala, chief agriculture officer and head of the school garden program, and given a tour of the school’s facility. She took us around the workshops, school garden and to a couple of classrooms and introduced us to many of her colleagues and the students involved in the school’s activities.

School Garden
Situated on the steep hillside behind the school classrooms and assembly area are the terraces that contain the school garden. Soil is scarce atop the underlying rock base so used car tires are placed in rows and filled with soil and organic matter to serve as the substrate for the plantings of herbs and vegetables. Empty PET water and soda pop containers are trimmed and used for seedling trays or filled with water and used as boundaries for planting beds.
Drip irrigation is installed throughout the garden. It not only demonstrates a modern agriculture practice but teaches water conservation in a region subject to periods of drought. The school is able to partner with agriculture technicians supplied by iDE, an international NGO focused on establishing family gardens in Honduras. The group also built a large cistern to store water and installed mechanical pumps operated by the up-and-down action of the kids playing on a seesaw or on a modified step masters – providing both exercise and entertainment while filling an overhead container that gravity feeds water through the irrigation tubes.
The students study the soil and learn when they need to add compost or lime to fertilize the plants. They use worm bins to decompose the plant wastes and use vermicompost teas to supplement the natural fertilizers.
The lettuce, mustard, beets, carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes, chayotes, cilantro, parsley, squash, and beans are harvested throughout the year and sold in the local Saturday market outside the school grounds.

The School Kitchen
In this part of the school, the students learn the techniques of food preparation and food hygiene using produce from the school garden or from the local farmers market. The students learn how to elaborate products that are commonly consumed in the local households like jams made from tropical fruits such as pineapple, papaya, black berries and mango. Tortillas are eaten daily and the school produces their own value added version incorporating carrots and beets from the garden. Besides the corn base, the added vegetables enhance the nutrition and add color to the traditional staple. They taste great, too.
Silvia said that the program influences the children’s eating habits since the daily mid- morning snacks produced in the school kitchen may be the first meal for those not able to eat breakfast at home. She also went on to say that many students are now starting gardens in their homes. We were happy to see that Slow Food principles of good, clean and fair food are becoming part of the lifestyles of everybody connected to the Cerro Grande School.]]> http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2012/08/connecting_tortillas_to_the_garden__teaching_entrepreneurship_to_elementary_school_students_in_honduras.php http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2012/08/connecting_tortillas_to_the_garden__teaching_entrepreneurship_to_elementary_school_students_in_honduras.php Fri, 03 Aug 2012 12:36:11 -0800 By Ann Brody Guy When a 20-minute lecture about the economic supply chain goes viral, spawning a stunning 12 million views, a non-profit organization with a slate of multimedia offerings, and a vibrant online community of hundreds of thousands of citizens eager to make the world a better place, one has to wonder: what secret force is behind it? The Story Of Stuff creator Annie Leonard is quick to tell you that a staff of six full-time people create the magic mixture of cartoons and intelligently and wryly distilled information, but it started with just her deep knowledge and commitment to the issue, and an infectious fire in the belly that jumps through the camera. Leonard will be on the UC Berkeley campus to give the keynote address for the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management’s (ESPM’s) annual Gradfest event, when graduating Ph.D.’s show off the department’s depth and diversity with spirited mini-talks on their dissertation research on topics, which this year include topics as wide-ranging as biodiversity in Caribbean coral, sudden oak death at Point Reyes National Seashore, and conservation policy in Bottswana. ]]> http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2012/05/story_of_stuffs_annie_leonard_1.php http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2012/05/story_of_stuffs_annie_leonard_1.php Tue, 01 May 2012 10:13:27 -0800 Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History that I decided that the California Academy of Sciences (CAS) would be the perfect venue to volunteer for. ]]> http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2011/02/first_day_as_a_cas_docent.php http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2011/02/first_day_as_a_cas_docent.php Irene Volunteering Sun, 27 Feb 2011 00:29:45 -0800 I finally had a conversation with my PI about graduate school and how I should approach it. I was becoming antsy about this topic because I had so many ideas or so many interests that I didn't know where to start looking. I have looked at some people and their research interests, but I haven't read their papers. Yet I wasn't entirely satisfied with where and what lab/program I should be looking at. So my conversation went in a roundabout way, starting from my interests in applying for some fellowships/scholarships in the UK. But we finally got to the main point, which was, basically, where do I start looking? I love getting lots of people's perspectives; some people start with reading papers and looking at what universities those people are associated with. Others look for a good general program. My previous PI gave me some names, some that resonated with me, some that took some time for me to warm up to. I guess in the end, I'm just really picky, and a bit selective. http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/09/in_thinking_about_grad_schoolp.php http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/09/in_thinking_about_grad_schoolp.php Graduate Irene Tue, 21 Sep 2010 16:20:17 -0800 last post as a PAL needs to be updated slightly. Since then, I have found a job as a Laboratory Assistant in Jay Hollilck's lab in PMB. Although I seem to have quite an extensive range of research experiences, this one is quite different from anything I've done before. First of all, I'm working with maize constantly. I was incredibly afraid I was allergic to corn pollen (and I may be slightly), but so far, I've survived. However, the biggest difference from all of my other research experience is that I'm working more on genetics-based questions, trying to figure out how an epigenetic phenomenon called paramutation works in maize. It's really quite fascinating, and I'm enjoying my time working in the fields as well as in the lab.]]> http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/08/quick_introduction_and_update.php http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/08/quick_introduction_and_update.php Genetics Irene My Story So Far Sun, 29 Aug 2010 22:35:24 -0800 Yesterday I had the opportunity to listen to Max Auffhammer, a UC Berkeley Ag and Resource Economics professor (College of Natural Resources). His talk was entitled "Climate Change: One economists Perspective. I tend to avoid conversations about "climate change" because it always seems to boil down to some argument over causation. Max did a great job of clarifying there is no way to determine "causation" unless we can create a second earth as a control and not have human activity and see what happens. He then said his department didn't have the budget for that experiment. It was quite a light moment. Anyway, through all his calculations studying all this data, his conclusions in accord with some of the scientific communities is the best guess for global climate change, with no changes to any circumstances and their expected growth, is a 2.5 degree C (4 degree F) by the year 2100. His work though, was not to calculate the climate change but to calculate "at what cost to society". In this case, his work produced a 1% loss to global GDP. He left it up to the individual to determine whether that was a lot or a little. Then he got to the fun part. He showed an image of Mission Control in Houston on July 20, 1969, the day we landed on the moon. At the time, few people knew anything about this scientific endeavor so NASA had hired many, many younger people in order to achieve the "within this decade" goal that JFK had set back in 1961. The point......the resulting average age in the room at Mission Control watching the moon landing was 28 years old. What that means is that when JFK set the goal, the average person who would see that goal achieved was only 20 years old!!! Climate change, figuring out what might be done and adjusting to the changes we will see this century will likely all be addressed by people who are just now in college. I know from my own studies at UC Berkeley almost 30 years ago, that we (society) have been pretty indifferent to any environmental compromises to the planet and always willing to write a check to cover it. By contrast, the air quality in Los Angeles is far, far, far better than 30 years ago. And, if a bunch of young people can put multiple men on the moon in less than a decade, then there is much hope. I left a pessimistic probability with an optimistic hopefulness. Maybe I'll even be willing to engage people on this subject now. That must be why Max won a "Distinguished Teaching Award" last year. http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/07/reason_to_be_optimistic.php http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/07/reason_to_be_optimistic.php Environment Guest Columns Wed, 14 Jul 2010 06:07:42 -0800

UYAG Development Center (UDC) is an integrated and sustainable agroforestry project in Barrio Cebuano, province of South Cotobato on the island of Mindano in the Philippines. The purpose of the project is to use the facility and surrounding area as a demonstration farm and teaching center for agriculture students from Mindanao State University in General Santos and for local farmers cultivating similar land areas. The group emphasizes an agroforestry technique that incorporates Sloping Agriculture Land Technology (SALT) to stabilize the steep and easily erodible hillsides so they can eventually be farmed safely and productively. I had the opportunity to spend two days with the project leader, Mr. Craig Gustafson, and with the center director, Mr. Joseph Nerredo and lead technician, Mr. Daniel Gorzen. They openly shared what they knew about UDC while I learned about the installation, their strategy and mission, and discussed the operations. I also reviewed the infrastructure and water supply, and walked the highlands seeing SALT in practice and the affects of slash and burn agriculture on the quality of crop yields and on the soil erosion it caused. I then advised them on the agronomic aspects of the project and worked with them to improve the productivity of their vermiculture and horticulture operations. Phase one of the project incorporated SALT techniques planting hedgerows of four legume tree species along contours of the steep slopes at intervals of one meter drop in elevation. UDC staff hadn’t measured the actual slopes but they are estimated at up to 30% to 40% on most locations and higher in some locations. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Soil Capability Classes of upland landscapes would classify them as VIIIe, having severe limitations of slope and susceptible to severe erosion. They can only be considered for use mainly as pasture or range, woodland, or wildlife food cover. SALT allows the above but with the stable soils; cereals and vegetables are also planted without severe consequences. The legume varieties planted for the hedgerows consist of species of Calliandra, Flemingia, Desmodium and Indigofera. Within a short period of time, mini terraces form behind the hedgerows from soil washing down within the contours and catching behind the base of the bushes in the branches and stems placed to act as an erosion barrier. The mini terraces later become the platform for the planting of various crops to be grown sustainably for food, fodder or fuel. Branches of the maturely growing legumes are high in protein and provide feed daily to a herd of Nubian goats. Because the steep slopes make it very difficult to transport the cut branches to the goat pens located on the more gentle downhill slopes, the workers use a zip line to move the feed from the highest points of the property to the goat complex below. The goats are caged in very high quality, covered bamboo structures with slatted floors where the manure and urine pass through the floors to the ground below. The goat manure and urine are collected and layered with banana stalks and leaves or with other green vegetation in two to three cubic meter bins and mixed with earthworms to make vermicompost. ]]> http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/07/uyag_development_center__agroforestry_project.php http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/07/uyag_development_center__agroforestry_project.php Agriculture Guest Columns Working Abroad Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:08:14 -0800 It's almost been 12 months since I've started at UCLA's lab. I've learned so much from them. They taught me how to run Acid Fast Bacteria assays, allowed me to look into microscopes to see things like malaria (all 3 species!) and TB, and allowed me to become part of a research team that's working on anaerobe bacterial presence in Chrohn's Disease. The time's flown by, and I sure hope you stay with me despite my long hiatus. I promise I won't be gone for long. As soon as this MCAT thing is done, I'll post pictures of all the weird things a Clinical Lab Scientist gets to see in a microbiology lab. I've worked hard in gathering interesting pictures, so hang tight! :) http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/06/time.php http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/06/time.php Aimmee Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:11:14 -0800 Link - ]]> http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/02/dealing_with_latex_sensitivity.php http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/02/dealing_with_latex_sensitivity.php Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:39:12 -0800  
The Green Building Finance Consortium (GBFC) announces the release of Value Beyond Cost Savings: How to Underwrite Sustainable Properties, the first book dedicated to
enabling private investors to integrate the value of sustainable property investment into their decision-making. The book and complementary resources are available on its website as a free public service of the Consortium. (http://www.greenbuildingfc.com/) A printed hard-copy book will be available for $35.00 in March 2010.

Rapid market change has significantly increased the demand for sustainable properties by tenants, investors, and regulators, but decision-making has not evolved, limiting investment to what can be justified based on operating cost savings alone. Value Beyond Cost Savings meets this challenge, providing a roadmap for integrating value and risk into sustainable property decision-making, enabling larger and more profitable levels of investment.

Sincerely,

Scott Muldavin
Executive Director, Green Building Finance Consortium
]]> http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/02/new_book_on_valuing_sustainble_property_investment.php http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/02/new_book_on_valuing_sustainble_property_investment.php Economics Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:13:06 -0800 Botany department at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. My adviser is Dr. John Z. Kiss. You may remember the blurb I wrote about him as an undergraduate on the Fresh Faces blog. It's already pretty big news that our lab is sending another batch of plants to the International Space Station with TROPI 2. Analysis of a Novel Sensory Mechanism in Root Phototropism (Tropi) will observe growth and collect samples from plants sprouted from seeds. By analyzing the samples at a molecular level, researchers expect to gain insight on what genes are responsible for successful plant growth in microgravity. Read more about this and the other spaceflight experiments taking place on STS-130 in the press kit. Here's a photo of my adviser John Kiss checking out his plants from the remote control center for the European Modular Cultivation System (EMCS) But there's an entirely new NASA project that we just landed on the very next shuttle mission STS-131 - and for this one, I get to play a big part. The study is entitled Investigations of the Plant Cytoskeleton in Microgravity with Gene Profiling and Cytochemistry. We will be using the Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) system for this study. Several seeds will be planted on a petri plate with agar, which will fit into a dark canister. It's a 10-day study wherein the seeds will germinate in orbit, The plants will grow until we flood half the plates with fixative for microscope studies and the other half with RNAlater for gene profiling studies through microarray analysis. As a graduate researcher for this project, I will be traveling to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to prepare my plants for flight. Launch is scheduled for March 18, 2010, 1:34 p.m. EDT. Here's the STS-131 mission patch:

In case you're curious which shuttle, Discovery is scheduled for the mission.
]]> http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/01/my_plants_in_space_1.php http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/01/my_plants_in_space_1.php Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:31:07 -0800 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 http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/01/it_is_an_art.php http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/01/it_is_an_art.php Kristin Medicine Tue, 26 Jan 2010 07:09:42 -0800 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. =) http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/01/meeting_the_interim_president.php http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/01/meeting_the_interim_president.php Kristin Medicine Sat, 23 Jan 2010 09:39:18 -0800 ..the Umbilical Cord!!! At my school, KCUMB (Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences), they assign us to an Early Clinical Experience. I got an OB/GYN. I need to get back to studying, however, it was amazing!! I had always been scared off from OB/GYN due to the high malpractice rate, but seeing a kid pop out of the canal? Coolness extreme! http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/01/cutting_the_cord.php http://nature.berkeley.edu/blogs/alumni/2010/01/cutting_the_cord.php Kristin Medicine My Story So Far Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:20:23 -0800