Summer SS PP EE CC TT RR AA 2000 THE NEWSLETTER OF THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTION Extending the Frontiers of Science Above is the Carnegie Observatories’ official first-day envelope and cancellation for the Edwin P. Hubble commemorative stamps. The envelope features the young Hubble at the 100-inch Mount Wilson telescope. INSIDE: New Board Members ................................................. 2 Fruit Fly Genome Sequenced .................................... 9 Signatures of Life—Carnegie Evening 2000 ........... 3 Algae at the Desert Lab? ............................................. 9 Honoring Hubble .......................................................... 4 Watery Mars ................................................................10 One Little Cell with Lots to Tell................................ 5 New Reading................................................................10 Magellan I Mirror Is In! ................................................ 8 Web Watch...................................................................16 Department of Department of Department of The Geophysical CASE/ Plant Biology Terrestrial Magnetism Embryology Observatories Laboratory First Light LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN Carnegie has been in human diseases. This means that as environments. Ultimately all of this work the business of science scientists learn more about gene function in will help to improve the planet’s long-term for almost one hundred the fruit fly, they will learn more about habitability. years. When we reflect curing illnesses in people. Our fundamental understanding of on our history, we have Genetic research on the model organism matter, energy, and the principles on which to ask, “What have we Chlamydomonas reinhardtii at Plant Biology the universe operates is enhanced with accomplished?” is a similar case. Art Grossman’s career- research at the Observatories. Wendy For almost a century long work with this single-celled alga is Freedman’s role in determining the we have provided the revealing important insights into how plants expansion rate of the universe, and Luis world with countless acclimate to different environmental Ho’s investigations into black holes are Tom Urban discoveries and conditions. The payoff? Researchers will be examples. Practical results aside, what innovations—from able to develop food crops that can grow in could be more important? Barbara McClintock’s genetic breakthroughs a broader range of climates and keep up None of the science we do today was to Hubble’s discovery of our place in the with the needs of the world’s growing envisioned a hundred years ago. Nor can we universe. These examples and others have population. imagine what the next hundred years will be profoundly influenced everyday lives. Scientists from three Carnegie depart- like. But we do know that Carnegie’s Carnegie’s recent achievements in areas ments—Terrestrial Magnetism, Plant achievements today and tomorrow will such as genetics, planetary and earth Biology, and the Geophysical Lab—continue continue to provide the foundations on science, and astronomy illustrate how our to help us understand more about the Earth. which future generations will build to institution continues to make society better. DTM’s director, Sean Solomon, for instance, improve the world that they inherit from us. In March, the Drosophila genome was unravels the mysteries of our sister planets, officially sequenced. Embryology’s director, providing insights into Earth’s evolution. Allan Spradling, and former Staff Member Chris Field and Joe Berry at Plant Biology Gerald Rubin were pivotal in initiating this investigate the human role in environmental work, which began almost a decade ago. change on our own planet. At GL, Marilyn The project has yielded 177 genetic Fogel studies biological and geological counterparts for genes that are linked to processes in the Earth’s past and present Tom Urban CARNEGIE INSTITUTION NEW MEMBERS JOIN THE BOARD OF W ASHINGTON 1530 P Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20005-1910 Former Embryology Staff Member Steven McKnight was (202) 387-6400 elected to the board of trustees at the May meeting in Web site: http://www.ciw.edu Washington, D.C. McKnight joins Daniel Belin as the Maxine F. Singer, President newest Carnegie board members. Daniel Belin, who was Augustus Oemler, Jr., Director, elected to the board in December, is a founding partner of The Observatories Wesley T. Huntress, Jr., Director, the Los Angeles law firm Belin Rawlings & Badal. He is a Geophysical Laboratory trustee of the Ahmanson Foundation, the Samuel H. Kress Sean C. Solomon, Director, Foundation, and serves on a variety of other boards and Department of Terrestrial visiting committees. Magnetism Christopher Somerville, Director, Steven McKnight has been affiliated with Carnegie for many Department of Plant Biology years. He came to the Department of Embryology as a staff Allan C. Spradling, Director, associate in 1979 and left as a Staff Member in 1992 to cofound Department of Embryology Tularik, Inc. At present, he is the chairman of the Department of John J. Lively, Director, Adminis- tration and Finance Biochemistry at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He holds the Susanne Garvey, Director, External Sam G. Winstead and F. Andrew Bell Distinguished Chair, and Affairs the Distinguished Chair in Basic Biomedical Research. Tina McDowell, Editor Ellen Carpenter, Assistant Editor and Designer 2 ❖ SUMMER 2000 ❖ SPECTRA: THE NEWSLETTER OF THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTION ❖ Signatures of Life—Carnegie Evening 2000 arilyn Fogel, a Staff MMember at the Geophysi- cal Lab, was this year’s Carnegie Left: Trustee Tom Cori and Marilyn Fogel Evening speaker. Her visually enjoy a moment after the lecture. appealing, fast-moving lecture was sprinkled with stories about what it is really like to collect data in the field. Fogel discussed her work Below: After a day of detecting “signatures of life” on board business, Earth and explained how her trustees Richard methods can be applied to the Right: More than 350 guests Meserve (left), Robert filled the administration Goelet (middle), and search for life on extraterrestrial building for Carnegie Tom Cori (right) get a bodies. Evening on May 4. chance to relax. Fogel’s research blends the fields of biology, chemistry, and geology. She described how she uses isotopes varied as the nature of of carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen to the first microorgan- understand the biological and isms on our planet, and the landscape geological processes in Earth’s past and climate of ancient Australia. Fogel and present environments. She also talked about how she anticipates presented several examples to analyzing samples, such as those from illustrate how she applies her future missions to Mars, to hunt for techniques to trace phenomena as evidence of life elsewhere. Daniel Belin May 2000, Board of Trustees: First row, from left: Michael Gellert, Tom Urban (chairman), Maxine Singer (president), Suzanne Nora Johnson, David Swensen. Second row: Sandra Faber, Sidney J. Weinberg, Jr., Tom Cori, Burton McMurtry, Philip Abelson, Gary Ernst. Third row: John Diebold, Bruce Ferguson, David Greenewalt (secretary), Robert Goelet, Jaylee Mead, John Crawford, Christopher Stone, James Ebert, William Rutter, Frank Press. Not pictured: Euan Baird, Daniel Belin, William Coleman, Jr., William Golden, Steven McKnight William Hearst III, Kazuo Inamori, Gerald Laubach, Steven McKnight, John Macomber, Richard Meserve, and William I. M. Turner, Jr. (vice chairman). SUMMER 2000 ❖ SPECTRA: THE NEWSLETTER OF THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTION ❖ 3 arnegie astrono- the fantastic discover- Cmer Edwin P. ies on Mount Wilson Hubble revolutionized Honoring Hubble “made this city the our concept of the uni- world center of verse, compelled astronomy for most Einstein to revise his of the past century.” Theory of Relativity, Pointing to the and is the man for Observatories’ build- whom the Hubble ings, he continued, Space Telescope is “It was in those named. The U. S. Postal offices, constructed in Service honored the 1912 in the middle of man and the telescope farmland, citrus on April 10 by issuing groves, and vine- five commemorative yards that the foun- stamps. Two first-day-of-issue cer- vatories, welcomed the audience. dations of the grand picture of emonies were held: one on the Speaking about about Hubble’s cosmology originated.” Observatories’ campus in Pasa- life and accomplishments, he The parallel celebration, at dena, California, where Hubble said, “Edwin Hubble is recog- NASA Goddard Space Flight was a staff member from 1919 un- nized as the greatest astronomer Center, was also cohosted by til his death in 1953, and the since Galileo and is certainly the the U.S. Postal Service. other at the NASA Goddard most influential astronomer that Carnegie president Maxine Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, this nation has produced.” Singer, NASA director Daniel Maryland. Oemler, Allan Sandage, and Goldin, and Space Telescope Robert Mysel, postmaster of Steven Hawley, an astronomer Science Institute director Steve Pasadena, presided over the and astronaut from the NASA Beckwith unveiled the stamps. California ceremony, which was Johnson Space Flight Center, In a talk later that day at attended by more than 200 then unveiled the stamps. Goddard, Carnegie’s Alan guests, six TV stations, two Allan Sandage took the po- Dressler noted that “the HST is radio stations, and several dium next. He referred to the continuing Edwin Hubble’s newspaper reporters. Gus Observatories as “the best-kept own work