As we promised last issue, we're introducing some new features to Science@Berkeley Lab. These include prompt RSS feeds of articles as soon as they have been edited, full-length pdfs of all stories, and a downloadable collection of images.
Ring Around the Microtubule
Fibers of tubulin attach to kinetochores and play a critical role in the movement and duplication of chromosomes during cell division. The secret lies in a sliding ring, made possible by remarkable interactions between the tubulin and kinetochore proteins.
Light-Powered Pistons
New four-legged molecules change shape and lift themselves above a metal surface when hit with a beam of ultraviolet light. A second beam reverses the action. Smart surfaces, light-triggered nanoswitches, and molecular machines that crawl are in the offing.
Back to the Times
Three years before opening new headquarters on the west side of Manhattan, The New York Times Company approached Berkeley Lab scientists for help finding technologies to regulate daylight in the breakthrough architecture. Now it's time to gauge the building's success.
A Diamondoid in Your Future
Diamondoids are hydrocarbon molecules with the same carbon-carbon structure as diamonds. Cheap, pure, and capable of self-assembly, they emit electrons at a single energy level, which could make them ideal for the ultra-high-definition, low-powered flat-panel screens of the future.
In Series
Part II of the series "The Language of Magnetic Resonance" explores innovations in the field of NMR and MRI created by chemist Alex Pines and his inventive crew of "Pinenuts."
The Large Hadron Collider won't start up until 2008, but scientists and engineers are already getting ready to upgrade the big machine, including a new kind of superconducting quadrupole magnet being developed in the U.S.
S@BL Printables
Beginning with this issue, full-length articles are available in pdf format. There's also an archive of edited S@BL Selects from previous issues.
October 23, 2007 
