 | ||||
|
|
July 29, 2004 Vol. 15, No. 4
The "8 1/2 x 11 News" is published each week by the University Advancement Division. News of campus interest should be sent to one of the following editors:
Ed Delaney, 412-268-1609
(ed47@andrew.cmu.edu) 2001 Editions are available online. 2002 Editions are available online. 2003 Editions are available online. Previous editions are available online.
SCIENTISTS DISCOVER BIOLOGICAL BASIS FOR AUTISM A team of brain scientists at Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pittsburgh have made a groundbreaking discovery into the biological basis for autism, a mysterious brain disorder that impairs verbal and non-verbal communications and social interactions. —Using functional magnetic resonance imaging scans, the researchers have found numerous abnormalities in the activity of brains of people with normal IQs who have autism. The new findings indicate a deficiency in the coordination among brain areas and converge with previous findings of white matter abnormalities in autism. (White matter consists of the "cables" that connect the various parts of the brain to each other). The new findings led the researchers to propose a new theory of the basis of autism, called underconnectivity theory, which holds that autism is a system-wide brain disorder that limits the coordination and integration among brain areas. This theory helps explain a paradox of autism: Some people with autism have normal or even superior skills in some areas, while other types of thinking are disordered. The team's study will be published in the August edition of the British journal "Brain." The journal's Web site is wwww.brain.oupjournals.org —In explaining the theory, Psychology Professor Marcel Just, one of the study's lead authors and director of the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging, compared the brain of a normal person to a sports team in which the members cooperate and coordinate efforts. In an autistic person, though some "players" may be highly skilled, they do not work effectively as a team, thus impairing an autistic's ability to complete broad intellectual tasks. Because this type of coordination is critical to complex thinking and social interaction, a wide range of behaviors are affected in autism. —The research team is jointly headed by Just, the D.O. Hebb Professor of Psychology at Carnegie Mellon, and Dr. Nancy Minshew, professor of psychiatry and neurology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and director of its Center for Autism Research. Further information: www.cmu.edu/PR/releases04/040727_autism.html NEUROSCIENTIST DEVELOPS TOOL TO IMAGE CELLULAR-LEVEL BRAIN FUNCTION Alison Barth, assistant professor of biological sciences, has developed the first tool to identify and study individual neurons activated in a living animal. Barth created a transgenic mouse that couples the green fluorescent protein (GFP) with the gene c-fos, which turns on when nerve cells are activated. Barth's technology is based on the decades-long understanding that a neuron must turn on new genes to firmly encode memories in the brain. Each time c-fos is activated in Barth's transgenic mouse, so is GFP. The result is an animal whose neurons literally glow when they are activated by stimuli. Using this method, researchers can see a glow from the specific neurons that had been activated by external stimuli like sensory experience or drug treatment. —This advance, described in the July 21 issue of "The Journal of Neuroscience," could ultimately lead to the development of targeted drugs that directly affect specific neurons involved in neurological diseases that alter behavior, learning and perception. It should help scientists see which neurons are active in different neurological diseases and has broad implications for rational drug design in the treatment of schizophrenia and other psychiatric diseases. Further information: www.cmu.edu/PR/releases04/040727_brain.html INTERACTIVE SOCIAL ROBOTS PARTICIPATE IN MOBILE ROBOT CHALLENGE Grace and George, a pair of socially skilled robots developed by a team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon, the Naval Research Laboratory and Swarthmore College, participated in the American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) annual Mobile Robot Competition and Exhibition July 27 - 29, in San Jose, Calif. "Having George and Grace operating throughout the conference--not just for an hour, but working throughout the duration--is more of a challenge," said project coordinator Reid Simmons, research professor in the Robotics Institute. "We're pushing for a sustained presence by the robots so people can interact with them at their leisure." —Grace and George are six-foot-tall, socially adept, autonomous talking robots with digitally animated faces. The robots worked as a team to complete AAAI's Open Interaction Task, which involves interacting with conference attendees in an unstructured environment. Further information: www.ri.cmu.edu/projects/project_522.html CARNEGIE MELLON HOSTS ACS-PRF SUMMER SCHOOL ON GREEN CHEMISTRY The American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund (ACS-PRF) is sponsoring a summer school on green chemistry, July 31 - Aug. 7, at Carnegie Mellon. Approximately 100 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the United States and Uruguay will come to campus for a week of immersion in green chemistry, the science of replacing polluting practices with non-toxic manufacturing approaches. Participants will attend lectures by leading scientists from academia and industry, including Dupont, Bayer, the University of Uruguay and the ACS; conduct laboratory work; and engage in group exercises to understand green chemistry problems. The program is hosted by Terry Collins, Thomas Lord Professor of Chemistry and director of the Institute for Green Oxidation Chemistry. INFO ON PARKING RATES AND ALLOCATION PROCESS FOR 2004-2005 Last week, Parking Services electronically distributed a memo about the new parking rates for 2004-2005. Unfortunately, they used a faulty d-list and, as a result, the memo was not distributed to all members of the university community. If you did not receive the memo, information is posted on official.cmu-news, July 23. —The new deadline for parking applications is 10 p.m., Friday, July 30. PERSONAL MENTION —Chemical Engineering Ph.D. students Anton J. Pfeiffer and John D. Siirola (advised by Professor Steinar Hauan) have won one of four "best contributed paper" awards at the 2004 conference for Foundations of Computer Aided Design. Their paper is entitled "Optimal Design of Microscale Separation Systems Using Distributed Agents." —The Carnegie Mellon University Press has published a new book by Art History Professor Edith Balas entitled "Michelangelo's Double Self-Portraits." In this, her seventh book, Balas discusses two previously unrecognized double self-portraits by the legendary Renaissance artist, "Victory" and "The Conversion of Paul." —Chemical Engineering graduate student Preeti Kamakoti won third prize in the student paper contest of the 8th International Conference on Inorganic Membranes for her paper, "Ab-initio Models and Experimental Measurements of Hydrogen Flux through Pd-Cu Membranes." Kamakoti's work is being done in collaboration with researchers from the Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory working with her advisor, Prof. David Sholl. —Chemical Engineering Professors Lee White, Dennis Prieve and John Anderson organized the International Electrokinetics Conference (ELKIN) held on campus this past June. This technical meeting had 85 participants from 22 countries. This was the first time ELKIN was held in North America. CALENDAR —Aug. 4 - 5: Software Engineering Institute course on information security for network managers. Designed to give information technology and network managers the practical knowledge required to ensure the security of their information assets, business continuity and disaster recovery planning. The price for Carnegie Mellon employees and students is $250 (includes all materials, breakfast and lunch). For a full course description, visit: official.cmu-news, July 22. To register, contact: Kimberly Lang, klang@sei.cmu.edu, 412-268-9564. —Friday, Aug. 6 - Friday, Aug. 27: What happens when you put a handful of artists, each with their own unique style, in a room with a variety of drawing materials? "Future Tenant," at 801 Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh's Cultural District, plans to find out with its upcoming exhibit, "drawing closer," a collaborative drawing exhibit. See official.cmu-news, July 27. |
||
|
Other Carnegie Mellon News || Carnegie Mellon Home |
||||