Dateline Rice for Oct. 20, 2015

FEATURED ITEM

Study sheds new light on human genetic structure
A research team based in Houston’s Texas Medical Center has found that loop-forming proteins inside the human chromosome appear to work like the sliding plastic adjusters on a grade-schooler’s backpack. This discovery may allow researchers to reprogram human cells by directly modifying the loops that form in DNA. Erez Lieberman Aiden, adjunct assistant professor in computational and applied mathematics and in computer science, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (This is featured on the front page. Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1XhmtW7
Researchers perform first surgery on the human genome
Time
http://ti.me/1GnERYU
Gene on-off switch works like backpack strap
Science Daily (This article also appeared in Controlled Environments, My Informs and Phys.org.)
http://bit.ly/1OGmpNT

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Nanotubes found in lungs of French kids
Scientists detect the presence of carbon nanotubes in cells extracted from the airways of Parisian children with asthma. Their results suggest nanotubes may be common components of airborne pollution and vehicles may be a source. Lon Wilson, professor of chemistry, is quoted.
Futurity
http://bit.ly/1MRGsaF
Are cars nanotube factories on wheels?
Texas Medical Center News (This article also appeared in Science Codex, NewsR.in, Science Newsline, Eletronic Component News, Science Blog and e! Science News.)
http://bit.ly/1M5mU3I
Are cars nanotube factories on wheels? Rice University, Paris colleagues: Study of lung cells suggests nanotubes are common pollutants
Nanotechnology Now
http://bit.ly/1hPVhh8

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Harris County voters head out on first day of early voting
The first day of early voting in Harris County more than tripled from the last mayoral election in 2009. Bob Stein, the Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science, comments on the demographic of Houston voters.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1GnJVMK

Biomarker finder adjusts on the fly
Rice bioengineers develop a continuously tunable method to locate biomarkers in DNA and RNA. Finding biomarkers is important for the detection of diseases and design of therapies to treat them. David Zhang, assistant professor of bioengineering, is quoted.
Texas Medical Center News (This article also appeared in Phys.org, My Informs, Science Codex, Health Canal, Science Daily, Medical Design Technology, e! Science News and News-Medical.)
http://bit.ly/1PxmQdu
Rice researchers design method to optimize finding biomarkers
Genengnews.com
http://bit.ly/1hPXQQh

766,000 Texans fall into Medicaid coverage gap
About 766,000 Texans do not qualify for Medicaid since the state chose not to expand it. Elena Marks, a nonresident health policy fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy and president and CEO of the Episcopal Health Foundation, is quoted.
San Antonio Express-News
http://bit.ly/1M59x3N

Private Texas college presidents say ‘no’ to guns on campus
Trinity College, Austin College and Paul Quinn College have opted out of Texas’ new law to allow licensed students to carry concealed guns on campus. Rice President David Leebron said he is still consulting with the campus community about the law.
ValleyCentral.com
http://bit.ly/1NlO1ES
3 private college presidents say no to guns
WFAA.com
http://bit.ly/1MS78rL

BROADCAST

Dallas sex offender incident focus of new antI-HERO ad
Mark Jones, the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies, professor of political science and fellow in political science at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, comments on the latest anti-Houston Equal Rights Ordinance ad.
Fox 26 Houston
http://bit.ly/1M4jsAi

Making space for communities in an individualist West
Former Rice President George Rupp is interviewed.
WNYC.org
http://bit.ly/1W2CcWg

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Powerful plastic microscope brings better diagnostic care for world’s rural poor
In a project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Grand Challenges in Global Health Initiative, Rice researchers have recently developed a plastic, miniature digital fluorescence microscope that can quantify white blood cell levels in patients in rural parts of the world. Tomasz Tkaczyk, associate professor of bioengineering, is quoted. Rebecca Richards-Kortum, the Malcolm Gillis University Professor, director of the Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering and of Rice 360°: Institute for Global Health Technologies, co-authored the study.
Phys.org (This article also appeared in AZONano, My Informs, Science Newsline and Medical Design Technology.)
http://bit.ly/1Lksago
Plastic, miniature digital microscope help patients in remote areas
Novus Light
http://bit.ly/1LIuJKK
Cheap microscope could improve medical care in poor nations
News Fulton County
http://bit.ly/1W3uNLP

Graphene nano-solenoids could produce powerful magnetic fields
Nanoscale spirals of graphene could be effective solenoid inductors, producing strong magnetic fields up to 1 tesla, according to Rice researchers. Boris Yakobson, the Karl F. Hasselmann Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering and professor of chemistry, and alumnus Fangbo Xu are quoted.
AZONano (Similar articles appeared in Semiconductor Engineering, Controlled Environments, My Informs, R&D Magazine, EDN Asia and i-Connect007.)
http://bit.ly/1OQ5A1y

Google’s board members: See what the Google chiefs have on their CVs
Venture capitalist John Doerr ’73 is included in a slideshow of Google’s board members.
TechWorld.com
http://bit.ly/1M5hAh0

Iran prepares battlefield for return to oil market
Iran plans to reach its former rate of 3.4 million barrels of oil within months of its sanction being lifted. Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow in Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
Investors.com (This article also appeared in Barchart.com.)
http://bit.ly/1XhLn7Z

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Disease free water, a global health challenge, commands an international team effort
A new five-year $3.6 million Partnerships in International Research and Education grant from the National Science Foundation is aiming to mitigate the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. Pedro Alvarez, the George R. Brown Professor and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Qilin Li, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and of materials science and nanoengineering, are mentioned as collaborators for this project.
Augusta Free Press
http://bit.ly/1LlWibd

Does the brain construct reality?
Writer Keith Parsons reviews the new PBS series, “The Brain with David Eagleman,” which features the Rice alum who is a neuroscientist, New York Times best-selling author and director of Baylor College of Medicine’s Laboratory for Perception and Action and Baylor’s Initiative on Neuroscience and Law. Eagleman ’93 is author and presenter of the six-episode series about the inner workings of the brain.
Patheos
http://bit.ly/1W3zYvc

SPORTS

College football: UT’s injury situation improves after open date
Rice football will play against the U.S. Military Academy Oct. 24 at Rice Stadium.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1NlRh34

Blue Raider soccer ends C-USA weekend winless
Rice women’s soccer beat Middle Tennessee University.
MTSUSidelines.com
http://bit.ly/1LBdwze

NEWS RELEASES

Rice U. study: New CEO’s gender may affect company performance
A CEO succession with a gender change may amplify the disruption of the CEO succession process and thus adversely affect company performance, according to a new study by strategic management experts at Rice University and the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing. This dynamic will increase the likelihood of the new CEO’s early departure, the study found.
http://bit.ly/1ZU6FKW

Gene on-off switch works like backpack strap
A research team based in Houston’s Texas Medical Center has found that loop-forming proteins inside the human chromosome appear to work like the sliding plastic adjusters on a grade-schooler’s backpack. This discovery may allow researchers to reprogram human cells by directly modifying the loops that form in DNA.
http://bit.ly/1GQTsa8