Reanimating extinct genes
Astro Biology Magazine, Apr 27  The movie Jurassic Park was a lesson in how resurrecting extinct organisms can go awry. A new project plans to take a safer route: resurrect a single gene from an extinct species of bacteria. This tiny snippet of DNA will be implanted in modern-day bacteria, with the goal of seeing whether evolution can be replayed in the lab.  In previous work, paleogeneticist Eric Gaucher from  Georgia  Tech reconstructed earlier forms of a common gene by computing the way different lineages diverged to create the bacterial family tree.  "It is a bit like what historical linguists do when they infer the spelling or pronunciation of an ancient word from its modern derivatives," Gaucher says. "Except, we are working with the DNA alphabet."(full story | Eric Gaucher)

Graphene yields secrets to its extraordinary properties
GT Newsroom,  May 16  Applying innovative measurement techniques, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have directly measured the unusual energy spectrum of graphene, a technologically promising, two-dimensional form of carbon that has tantalized and puzzled scientists since its discovery in 2004.  (full story )

Neva Rose recognized for her work in education
CEISMOGRAPH News, May 6  The National Coalition of 100 Black Women recently recognized CEISMC program director  Neva Rose for making "significant inroads in encouraging young people to pursue science, mathematics, engineering, and technology fields, and for her work in training educators to guide young people into those fields." (full story  | Neva Rose)

In Memorium: Derek Cunnold, EAS professor Emeritus
AJC, Apr 25  The headline “U.S. in Historic Shift on CO2” on the front page of the Wall Street Journal last Saturday may have made Derek Cunnold beam with satisfaction or sigh with relief — his family and colleagues can’t say for sure. What his family does know is that he read it because he had set the article aside for safekeeping. The 68-year-old atmospheric scientist, a pioneer researcher in the areas of climate change and ozone depletion, then went to his ALTA men’s doubles game and died suddenly... (full story)