National Association of Science Writers
Sixth Annual Professional Workshops
14-15 February 2001
Berkeley, Calif.

NASW 2001 Workshops
Berkeley, Calif.


Important deadlines:

  • Nov. 15 - Early registration deadline
  • Nov. 15 - Berkeley preferred housing deadline
  • Jan. 7 - Late registration deadline (add $20 late registration fee)

Registration forms have been mailed to NASW members. To receive a registration form, send your request with your snail mail address to Diane McGurgan, diane@nasw.org.

For the first time, you may pay online, but you still must send in the registration form by mail.

NASW workshops are full and closed. Workshop tapes will be available for sale.

Directions:

For those staying in downtown San Francisco, the best option is BART. The fare from any downtown San Francisco stop is $2.65 one way. Take the Richmond train directly to Downtown Berkeley -- about a 30 minute ride -- or take a Pittsburg/Bay Point train and transfer to a Richmond train in downtown Oakland.

When you arrive at the Downtown Berkeley BART station, take the escalator to street level. You will be at the corner of Shattuck Ave. and Center St. You have four options: a 25 cent UC Berkeley shuttle bus; a $1.35 AC Transit bus; a cab; or you could walk about 1.5 miles uphill.

Cab -- There usually is a short line of cabs on Shattuck Ave. at the BART exit. Tell the driver to take you to 2601 Warring St.

Walking -- If you want to walk, go south on Shattuck Ave. a half-mile to Dwight Way and up Dwight a mile to Warring St. The Clark Kerr campus is at 2601 Warring St.

Campus shuttle -- The UC Berkeley shuttle stops in front of the Bank of America building at Shattuck and Center Streets, diagonally across the intersection from the BART exit. Drop your quarter in the box and ride around the campus until you reach the corner of Piedmont Ave. and Bancroft Way (don't get off when the bus waits briefly at the campus mining circle). The stop is in front of International House, a distinctive Mission-style student residence. From there, walk south on Piedmont two long blocks to the Clark Kerr campus, located at the corner of Dwight Way where Piedmont jogs left to merge into Warring St. The Krutch Theater is another block along Warring, at the main entrance to the Clark Kerr campus.

County bus -- If you want to ride public transit, the 51 and 51A buses stop about every 10 minutes on Shattuck Ave. at Center St., right at the BART exit. For $1.35 (exact change only) you can ride the bus through the area south of campus, up Durant Ave. to College Ave., then south three blocks on College to Dwight Way, where you should get off. Walk uphill along Dwight Way slightly more than two blocks to Piedmont Ave./Warring St. The Clark Kerr campus is straight ahead to your right.

If you want a map, check out Yahoo's at http://maps.yahoo.com/

If you are driving, you can find directions at http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/conference/planner/DirtoUCB_CKC.html. A map of the Kerr campus showing the Southwest Parking Lot is at http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/conference/map.html. Cost is $8/day.

NOTE: For those staying at the Durant Hotel, it's about a half mile walk to the Clark Kerr campus. Just head up Durant to Piedmont (two blocks), then turn right and go another two blocks to the campus.

Wednesday, Feb.14
Clark Kerr Campus,University of California, Berkeley

8-8:50 am
Continental Breakfast

9-11:45 am
Small is Beautiful

{organized by Robert Sanders, UC Berkeley}

MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) have invaded markets in the form of accelerometers in auto air bags and labs-on-a-chip. Nanotechnology promises to bring us devices a thousand times smaller, on the scale of a billionth of a meter -- the size of molecules. How realistic is the hype, and what kinds of devices or new technologies are we likely to see?

9-9:10 am Introduction
 
9:10-9:20 am Nanotech: The Big Picture
Mihail Roco is senior advisor for nanotechnology, National Science Foundation, and chair of the National Science and Technology Council's subcommittee for Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology. Roco was a key architect of the National Nanotechnology initiative established by President Clinton in January 2000 to direct federal resources to the field.
 
9:20-9:40 am
Alex Zettl, a professor of physics at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), is pushing the limits of carbon nanotubes, exploring their electrical and chemical properties and the potential for new and much smaller electronic circuits.
 
9:45-10:05 am
Don Eigler, IBM Fellow at IBM Almaden Research Center near San Jose, was the physicist who, in 1989, first moved atoms around with a scanning tunneling microscope, amusing his colleagues by spelling out "I-B-M" with individual xenon atoms. He now is exploring the potential for atomic-scale logic and data-storage technologies.
 
10:10-10:30 am
Paul Alivisatos, a professor of chemistry at UC Berkeley and LBNL, focuses on nanochemistry and the quantum effects that come into play when dealing with nanocrystals and nanorods that may contain only 1,000 atoms. Some of these quantum dots and rods have already been adapted for medical use. Recently he and colleague Paul McEuen also fabricated a single-molecule transistor - the smallest ever built - from a C-60 buckyball.
 
10:30-10:45 am Coffee break
 
10:45-11:05 am
Kris Pister, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at UC Berkeley, is the guy who invented the concept of "smart dust" - a computer plus microsensors smaller than a red blood cell that can be dispersed in the air to measure air quality, detect movement or whatever. He's also constructing MEMS robots - microbots and nanobots - that can be fabricated in the same way integrated circuits are today.
 
11:05-11:25 am
Kevin Healy, associate professor of bioengineering at UC Berkeley, designs biomimetic materials on the nanometer scale that direct the growth or response of cells and tissues in the body. One project involves an injectable gel that marshals bone cells to speed the regeneration and repair of bone and cartilage.
 
11:25-11:45 am
Steven Block, professor of biology and applied physics at Stanford University, has become a critic of the hype surrounding nanotechnology, and argues that scientists should distance themselves from the "giggle factor" that creates unrealistic expectations for the future. His own work involves the nanoscale motors inside cells - kinesin and RNA polymerase, for example - and the lessons we can learn from them.

Noon-1 pm
Buffet Lunch
Garden Room

2001: A Genomics Odyssey
{produced by the University of California, Davis, organized by Sylvia Wright, UC Davis and Patricia Bailey, UC Davis}

1-1:45 pm
Plenary Lecture: Where You'll Find Genomics News in the Next Year

About the time of our workshop, scientists will be publishing the annotated version (or versions, apparently) of the human genome, which will identify genes and begin to describe their function. What will that mean for science journalism in the coming year? What other scientific milestones will be reached this year in the genetic revolution -- in our understanding and manipulation of DNA in plants and animals? This 35-minute overview will be followed by 10 minutes of questions and answers.

  • Eric Lander, Ph.D., director, Whitehead Institute Center for Genome Research; professor of biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2-3 pm

Room A: Environmental Benefits and Risks of Genetically Modified Crops

Will GMO crops reduce pesticide use, increase yield, and protect environmentally fragile lands from agricultural development? Or will they kill butterflies and other benign insects, produce invincible "super weeds" and rob organic farmers of a natural tool for pest control? Our speaker will discuss the potential benefits and risks of genetically engineered crops and the need to monitor their use in developing nations as well as in industrialized countries.

    • C. Neal Stewart, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, University of North Carolina, Greensboro,

Room B: Ethical, Legal and Social Implications: The Newest Wrinkles

Hear the latest on gene-based discrimination in insurance, employment, and medical care; DNA evidence and DNA banking in criminal cases; sharing genetic information with family members and sweethearts; selective reproduction; public distrust of biotechnology; and fetal-cell research.

    • Mark Rothstein, J.D., University of Louisville School of Medicine, director, Institute for Bioethics, Health Policy and Law; chair, Social Issues Committee, American Society of Human Genetics; co-editor of "Behavioral Genetics: The Clash of Culture and Biology," 1999, and author of "Genetic Secrets: Protecting Privacy and Confidentiality in the Genetic Era," 1997
    • Ted Peters, Ph.D., Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, Calif., professor of systematic theology; author of "Playing God? Genetic Determinism and Human Freedom," 1997

3:15-4:15 pm

Room A: Human Health Benefits and Risks of Genetically Modified Foods

If you eat corn chips, chances are you've been munching on GMOs for some time now. How will the human body receive this genetically altered food supply? Are consumers at risk of eating proteins that will cause unexpected allergic reactions? Session will address health issues, the regulatory process we rely on to detect harmful products, and whether our health systems will track GMO-related health problems.

    • Susan L. Hefle, Ph.D., University of Nebraska, Lincoln, assistant professor of food science and technology; co-director, Food Allergy Research and Resource Program

Room B: Steel from Cow's Milk: The Potential of Genetically Modified Livestock

No, Saturday night's T-bone was not genetically modified. In fact, there are no transgenic food animals in commercial use-yet. But researchers worldwide are scrambling to see how they can genetically alter food animals to improve the nutritional and processing quality of their meat and milk. Others are using farm animals as four-legged factories for pharmaceutical and industrial compounds. Our speakers, a research team at the forefront of transgenic livestock research for more than a decade, will discuss their work and give an overview of the field.

    • Jim Murray, Ph.D., professor of animal science and veterinary medicine, University of California, Davis
    • Gary Anderson, Ph.D., professor and chair of animal science, University of California, Davis

4:30-5:30 pm

Room A: Beyond Genomics: Proteomics

Proteomics is the study of the dynamics of protein folding and of protein-protein interactions. Many diseases are the result of abnormal protein folding, including sickle cell and Alzheimer's diseases and prion disorders such as mad-cow disease. The ability to predict structure is crucial to advanced drug design. Our speaker is a leader in the analysis and prediction of protein structure and stability -- features which directly determine how, at what speed and with what partners a protein can interact. He also brings the industry viewpoint to the table.

    • Fred Cohen, M.D. professor of medicine, cellular and molecular pharmacology and pharmaceutical chemistry, University of California, San Francisco; board of directors, DoubleTwist, a California genomics company

Room B: Pharmacogenetics and Gene Therapy

Genetic discoveries are being put to work in improved drug design, personalized medicine, and gene therapy. Kathleen Giacomini is a leader in studies of genes that code transporter proteins, which are expected to be key to development of improved anti-cancer and antidepressant medicines. David Jablons uses genetic analysis of excised tumor tissue to design individualized drug therapy.

    • Kathleen Giacomini, Ph.D., professor and chair of biopharmaceutical sciences, University of California, San Francisco
    • David Jablons, M.D., assistant professor of surgery, University of California, San Francisco

Room C: Mice, Monkeys, Cats and Dogs: The Next Mammalian Genome Projects

Gene mappers are sorting out the genomes of a number of animal species in hopes of providing useful models for the diseases that afflict both humans and animals. Speakers will discuss where the work on these different species stands, how their efforts differ from those of the human genome project, and what they hope to accomplish.

    • Carol J. Bult, Ph.D., The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, Mouse Genome Informatics Group
    • Leslie Lyons, Ph.D., University of California, Davis, assistant professor of genetics

5:45 to 7 pm
Wine reception

You Say Your Father Was A Chardonnay?

DNA fingerprinting, the same techniques that link criminals with their crimes, is now being used to identify the ancestors of the world's most esteemed wine grapes. Our speaker, an authority on genetic manipulation and analysis of grapevines, has used DNA fingerprinting to reconstruct the family vines of dozens of wine grapes. Her findings have startled the wine elite.

Enjoy complimentary wine and hors d'oeuvres as guests of the University of California, Davis, at this reception.

  • Carol Meredith, Ph.D., professor and geneticist, viticulture and enology, University of California, Davis

Updated 9 Feb. 2001
Comments, questions about the workshop Web pages? Contact Carol Cruzan Morton, ccmorton@nasw.org.