Main USC news site published by the University Public Relations office. http://uscnews.usc.edu/ en-us Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:50:45 -0800 Gary Ruvkun has come a long way from living in his van after being denied medical school admission by USC and UCLA in the early 1970s. He and fellow molecular biologist Victor Ambros recently received the prestigious Meira and Shaul G. Massry Prize for their revolutionary research in micro RNA.]]> http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/ruvkun_and_ambrose_receive_massry_prize.html http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/ruvkun_and_ambrose_receive_massry_prize.html#15513 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:03:33 -0800 The “Moving Targets” symposium, hosted on Nov. 9 by the USC School of Pharmacy, focused on therapeutics involved in the tumor microenvironment. “Moving Targets” aims to promote the interactions of students in the pharmaceutical, biomedical and biological sciences, as well as with academic leaders and members of the pharmaceutical industry.]]> http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/usc_symposium_targets_key_pharmaceuticals.html http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/usc_symposium_targets_key_pharmaceuticals.html#15396 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:33:09 -0800 If a circadian rhythm is like an orchestra - the united expression of the rhythms of millions of cells - a common chemical may serve as the conductor, or at least as the baton. The chemical is hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), the active ingredient in color safe bleach. Produced in all]]> http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/hydrogen_peroxides_link_to_living_cells.html http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/hydrogen_peroxides_link_to_living_cells.html#15228 Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:01:09 -0800 Kelvin Davies, associate dean and holder of the James E. Birren Chair of Gerontology at the USC Davis School of Gerontology, has received a $244,000 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant from the National Institutes of Health for research on oxidative stress and aging. Funds will be used to conduct]]> http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/davies_wins_grant_to_study_oxidative_stress.html http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/davies_wins_grant_to_study_oxidative_stress.html#15200 Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:39:54 -0800 Emily Mower's research seeks to understand how machines can interpret emotion. A graduate student in the USC Viterbi School's Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering, Mower is conducting research that may allow synthetic agents (robots and computer avatars) to understand human expressions of emotion. Mower is an Intel Fellow, a]]> http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/once_more_with_robotic_feeling.html http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/once_more_with_robotic_feeling.html#14993 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:39:27 -0800 USC School of Pharmacy graduate student Tim Bensman’s work in the lab of professor Paul Beringer may prove to be an integral step toward the treatment of inflammation caused by cystic fibrosis. His innovative work with the antibiotic doxycycline was performed over this past summer through a fellowship program awarded]]> http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/pharmacy_student_earns_research_award.html http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/pharmacy_student_earns_research_award.html#14794 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:36:53 -0800 Be on the lookout for possibly USC College’s youngest researcher. He is David Dominguez, a 16-year-old student at Animo Film and Theatre Arts Charter School. The senior at the South Los Angeles high school is conducting important scientific research on campus. A novice filmmaker, Dominguez learned he could also excel]]> http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/prep_student_excels_in_university_lab.html http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/prep_student_excels_in_university_lab.html#14737 Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:50:19 -0800 Nobel Prize winner Carl Wieman brought his message to nearly 100 USC faculty members that current methods of teaching subjects such as physics, chemistry and engineering are wrongminded and inefficient. The 2001 physics prize winner, whose appearance was sponsored by the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, USC College and the]]> http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/smaller_may_be_better_when_teaching_science.html http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/smaller_may_be_better_when_teaching_science.html#14613 Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:34:28 -0800 You’ve seen him in the blogosphere, you’ve seen him on TV. He’s no reality star or guitar god, but he plays with both stars and strings. Clifford Johnson is not only a USC College professor of physics and astronomy and a string theory expert, but a public spokesman for the]]> http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/science_is_never_geek_to_him.html http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/science_is_never_geek_to_him.html#14540 Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:15:51 -0800 Roberta Diaz Brinton, holder of the R. Pete Vanderveen Endowed Chair in Therapeutic Discovery and Development, is proving why she was named a “best mind” by U.S. News & World Report in 2004. Five years later, Brinton is still earning numerous awards and support for her groundbreaking research. In addition]]> http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/brinton_research_earns_wide_support.html http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/brinton_research_earns_wide_support.html#14417 Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:02:10 -0800 Three USC School of Pharmacy scientists have been awarded the school’s second grouping of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants, enhancing research efforts designed to ultimately create new therapeutics. Among the recipients is Roberta Diaz Brinton, holder of the R. Pete Vanderveen Endowed Chair in Therapeutic Discovery and Development, who]]> http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/stimulus_grants_enhance_therapeutic_work.html http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/stimulus_grants_enhance_therapeutic_work.html#14292 Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:39:31 -0800 People know all about Robert Oppenheimer, the Promethean figure who gave us the atomic bomb. Numerous biographers have chronicled his rise and precipitous fall. Composer John Adams made him the Faust-like hero of a recent opera. But few people know much about his kid brother, Frank Oppenheimer - also a]]> http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/the_other_oppenheimer.html http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/the_other_oppenheimer.html#14138 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:04:46 -0800 Two USC neuroscientists have been awarded nearly $9 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to map how genes are expressed in different regions of the human brain throughout development. The two-year Grand Opportunity grant, funded through the National Institutes of Mental Health, will allow researchers to use DNA]]> http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/usc_neuroscientists_to_map_gene_expression.html http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/usc_neuroscientists_to_map_gene_expression.html#14219 Tue, 29 Sep 2009 07:44:43 -0800 Thomas Jordan, University Professor and holder of the W.M. Keck Foundation Chair in Geological Sciences, was awarded a $1.6 million federal stimulus grant to continue developing the PetaShake Project — an advanced computational research platform designed to support high-resolution earthquake simulations on a regional scale. The grant will enable the]]> http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/jordan_receives_16_million_stimulus_grant.html http://uscnews.usc.edu/science_technology/jordan_receives_16_million_stimulus_grant.html#14106 Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:42:22 -0800 David Bottjer, professor of earth and biological sciences at USC College, and Luis Chiappe, director and curator of the National History Museum, have established the College’s Center for Chinese Fossil Discoveries. The center emphasizes graduate education and encourages undergraduate participation. “We have a successful example of a new enterprise and]]> http://uscnews.usc.edu/university/fossils_fuel_their_imagination.html http://uscnews.usc.edu/university/fossils_fuel_their_imagination.html#14042