New York Times, 01.31.08
Lasers Make Other Metals Look Like Gold

Researchers Create Gold Aluminum, Black Platinum, Blue Silver

Using a tabletop laser, University of Rochester optical scientists have turned pure aluminum, gold.

And blue. And gray. And many other colors. And it works for every metal tested, including platinum, titanium, tungsten, silver, and gold.

Chunlei Guo, associate professor of optics at the Institute of Optics, now believes it's possible to alter the properties of any metal to turn it any color—even multi-colored iridescence like a butterfly's wings. Since the process changes the intrinsic surface properties of the metal itself and is not just a coating, the color won't fade or peel, says Guo.

Rochester's Omega Laser, One of the World's Most Powerful, Receives 50-Fold Power Increase to Become 'Petawatt' Laser

The Omega EP comprises a new set of four ultra-high-intensity laser beams that will unleash more than a petawatt—a million billion watts—of power onto a target just a millimeter across.

Working in conjunction with LLE's original 60-beam Omega laser, the Omega EP will open the door to a new concept called "fast ignition," which may be able to dramatically increase the energy derived from fusion experiments and provide a possible new avenue toward clean fusion power. If successful, fast ignition could lead to the highest energy densities ever achieved in a laboratory.

R News, 05.13.08
Omega Laser Gets a Powerful Boost

MSNBC, 03.18.08
New clues to the most amazing shapes in space

Finally, the 'Planet' in Planetary Nebulae?

The name "planetary" nebula has always been a misnomer.

When these objects were discovered 300 years ago, astronomers couldn't tell what they were and named them for their resemblance to the planet Uranus. But as early as the mid-19th century, astronomers realized these objects are really great clouds of dust emitted by dying stars.

Now, Rochester astronomers have found that planets or low-mass stars and possibly even super-Jupiter-sized planets orbiting these aged stars may indeed be pivotal to the creation of the nebulae's fantastic appearance.

Mountain Ranges Rise Much More Rapidly than Geologists Expected

Mountains may experience a "growth spurt" that can double their heights in as little as two to four million years—several times faster than the prevailing tectonic theory suggests.

Carmala Garzione, associate professor of geology at the University of Rochester, says this rapid uplift means the current theory of plate tectonics will have to be substantially modified to include a process called "delamination."

Reuters, 06.06.08
Mountains could have growth spurts

NPR, 03.31.08
'Prosperity Gospel' Churches' Spending Reports Due

Author Explains How Women in the Church of God in Christ Created Social Change through Spirituality in the Early 20th Century

In this first major study of what is now the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States, Anthea Butler acted as both a scholar and participant observer to tell the rich stories of the founding members of the church's Memphis-based Women's Department from 1911 through the 1960s. "By being moral and spiritual exemplars, they were able to share power and at times take power away from a male-dominated clergy."

Time Cites Bird Flu Vaccine as Top Medical Development of 2007

Time Magazine cited the approval of a bird flu vaccine earlier this year as a top medical development of 2007. Crucial testing of the vaccine, the first ever approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to prevent bird flu, was led by John Treanor, M.D., professor of Medicine and of Microbiology and Immunology.

More than 750 people in the Rochester area have taken part in studies of bird flu vaccines at the University.

New York Times, 09.04.07
When Bacteria Transfer Genes to Invertebrates and Spread From There

One Species Genome Discovered Inside Another

Scientists at the University of Rochester and the J. Craig Venter Institute have discovered a copy of the genome of a bacterial parasite residing inside the genome of its host species. The research shows that bacterial-to-animal gene transfers may happen much more frequently than scientists previously believed, with implications for evolution and the control of diseases and pests.

Daisies Lead Scientists Down Path to New Leukemia Drug

A Medical Center team has shown that a compound derived from a daisy-like plant known as feverfew or bachelor's button attacks the roots of leukemia.

ABC News, 10.09.07
Flower Power: A Cure for Cancer?

Meconi awarded NEH grant to study 'early iPods'

Honey Meconi, a professor for both the University's music department and Eastman School, has received funding to research and write a book about the history of musical manuscripts known as chansonniers, masterpieces she describes as "early iPods."

"Each chansonnier reflects the choices of an individual, as does each iPod, in contrast to a modern commercial CD that has choices made for the purchaser," says Meconi.

Supersonic Rain Falls on Newborn Star

Astronomers at the University of Rochester have discovered five Earth-oceans' worth of water that has recently fallen into the planet-forming region around an extremely young, developing star.

Time, 08.30.07
Sleet Storm in Space

Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute Opens Its Doors

With the opening of the Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, the Medical Center is now home to one of the largest centers devoted to heart research in the nation. Basic studies on heart disease abound, from identifying the genes that control heart failure to further understanding how plaque builds up in arteries and causes heart attacks and stroke.