Vol. 56 - No. 15 May 3, 2002 Richard Setlow Wins Environmental Mutagen Society Award ichard Setlow, a senior bio- The award was announced at nucleotide-excision repair and Rphysicist in the Biology De- the annual EMS meeting in An- the development of a method, partment, has been named the chorage, Alaska, on April 30. known as bromouracil photoly- recipient of the 2002 Environ- Setlow will receive a plaque and sis, to study excision repair. He mental Mutagen Society (EMS) monetary prize. also was cited for his discovery Award. He is being recognized “I am pleased to be chosen for of a crucial link between unre- for his research contributions to this award,” said Setlow. “I am paired DNA damage and cancer. the field of environmental mu- gratified that discoveries I’ve Almost 40 years ago, Setlow tagenesis, which is the study of made have had wide application and his colleagues at Oak Ridge how various agents in the envi- in many fields and have ad- National Laboratory (ORNL) dis- ronment, such as chemicals and vanced scientific understanding covered that certain DNA defects radiation, lead to DNA damage of how genetics, the environ- caused by ultraviolet light lead and how that damage is re- ment, and human health are in- to biological damage. He also paired. DNA is the material that terconnected.” showed that, in normal bacterial forms the molecular basis for Specifically, Setlow is being cells, these defects could be re- heredity. honored for his discovery of moved by cellular enzymes, a process known as nucleotide- excision repair. This mechanism Physicist Freeman Dyson Gives 2002 Pegram Lectures works by cutting out the dam- aged regions and patching the Unfashionable Thoughts resulting holes. This groundbreaking research About Science, May 13-15 led to great interest in repair, since certain genetic diseases Roger Stoutenburgh reeman Dyson, a distin- stem from inherited deficiencies F guished physicist and prize- in DNA repair. winning author, will speak on In the early 1970s, Setlow “Unfashionable Thoughts About and James Regan, a colleague Science and Technology” in at ORNL, developed bromou- three George B. Pegram Lectures racil photolysis, a method to D5730402 in Berkner Hall, Monday measure DNA repair that be- Richard Setlow through Wednesday, May 13-15, came a standard technique. at 4 p.m. After each lecture, They incorporated bromou- Dyson will be available for book racil, an analog of thymine, into repaired regions arising from the most serious form of skin signing. repaired patches of DNA. Expo- chemical or physical agents in cancer, known as malignant Dyson’s May 13th talk, titled sure of the repair patches to the environment. melanoma, is induced by all “Thought-Experiments: Explor- long-wavelength ultraviolet At BNL in the early 1990s, wavelengths of the sun’s ultra- ing the Limits of Quantum Me- light resulted in DNA breaks in Setlow and his colleagues began violet rays. Based on experi- chanics,” is a technical talk com- the bromouracil. From the ultra- investigating the role of mela- ments using tropical fish, which, plete with equations, intended violet dose and the numbers of noma-susceptibility genes and like humans, develop melanoma primarily for physicists. To breaks, they were able to calcu- tumor-suppressor genes in caus- from exposure to stimulate thought, four imagi- late the numbers and sizes of the ing melanomas. They found that (continued on page 2) nary experiments will be de- Freeman Dyson scribed and explained, support- ing the controversial view that examined the question: Is tech- Update: Upton Ecological & Research Reserve quantum mechanics has a lim- nology out of control? The sec- ited scope. ond, with Carl Djerassi, inven- species of plants and 162 species The May 14th talk, “Looking tor and promoter of the birth- of mammals, birds, reptiles, and for Life in Unlikely Places,” will control pill, asked: Is reproduc- amphibians. The Pine Barrens suit an audience with some gen- tion a fundamental human land in the Upton Reserve cre- eral knowledge of astronomy. In right? In the third, Brian Greene, ates a unique ecosystem of for- this talk, Dyson will address the author of The Elegant Universe, ests and wetlands, providing question of how to search effec- debated the question: When will habitat for approximately 27 tively for life in the outer reaches we know it all? endangered species or species of of the solar system. Born in Crowthorne, Berk- special concern, including the Dyson’s May 15th talk, shire, England, Dyson received eastern tiger salamander and “World Economic Forum De- a bachelor’s degree in math- Roger Stoutenburgh state-threatened banded sunfish. bates the Future of Science and ematics from the University of Other wildlife species of interest Technology,” will be geared to- Cambridge in 1945. He com- that inhabit the area are wild tur- ward a general audience. Dyson pleted fellowships at Cam- key, red fox, eastern box turtle, will describe three debates that bridge’s Trinity College from and red-tailed hawk. were staged at the World Eco- 1946 to 1947, at Cornell Univer- A deer survey of the BNL site, nomic Forum in Davos, Switzer- sity in 1947, and at the Univer- D0450202 including the reserve, shows land, in January 2001. sity of Birmingham from 1949 that the deer count is down con- The first debate, with Bill Joy, to 1951. He returned to siderably from last winter. Dur- Peter Kelly (left), U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and Tim Green, BNL founder of Sun Microsystems, (continued on page 2) ing the winter of 2000-2001, Environmental Services Division, use a tool called an increment borer some 1,942 deer were counted to monitor the age and other characteristics of trees in the Upton Eco- on site. This winter, the number logical & Research Reserve. has fallen to 1,150. “Because of Coming Up n November 2000, DOE dedi- Parks, and the U.S. Fish & Wild- overpopulation and extended NSLS Annual Users’ Meeting Icated over 500 acres of the life Service — the organization snow cover in early 2001, some eastern portion of the BNL site that is in charge of land man- deer died due to winter condi- The National Synchrotron Light Source Annual Users’ — known as the Upton Ecologi- agement activities and research tions,” Green said. Meeting will take place Monday-Wednesday, May 20-22. cal & Research Reserve — for per- at the reserve. In another project initiated On Monday, May 20, workshops will be held on: manent preservation of its Peter Kelly, a U.S. Fish & through the reserve, BNL is col- • Environmental sciences: synchrotrons providing power- unique Pine Barrens ecosystem. Wildlife biologist, maintains an laborating with Dowling College ful tools for a new science Since then, much progress has office at BNL. He works closely to study the effects of deer on • X-ray sources for studies of ultrafast processes been made in characterizing and with Tim Green, BNL’s natural plant diversity. Green and Kelly • EXAFS studies of nanoscale and nanostructured materials managing the land. resource manager, to implement have also begun a baseline sur- • Practical aspects of membrane protein crystallography: A technical advisory commit- plans for the reserve. vey of trees at the reserve to track from overexpression to crystallization tee was established to voice Green and Kelly recently changes over time. On Tuesday, May 21, the main meeting will be held opinions on how the land posted the boundary of the re- In addition, a new vegetation On Wednesday, May 22, workshops will be held on: should be managed and main- serve, and Kelly began a survey map for the entire BNL site, in- • Recent advances in the application of synchrotron radia- tained. The committee, which of small mammals in the area. cluding the reserve, is being pre- tion to catalysis meets every six weeks, includes So far, the survey indicates that pared. The new map is based on • Combining synchrotron infrared and x-ray micro- representatives from BNL, the the most common small mam- the National Vegetation Stan- spectroscopy and imaging Community Advisory Commit- mal in the area is the white- dard. This standard is accepted • In situ studies of materials processing tee, DOE, the Nature Conser- footed mouse. by all federal and many state • Advanced detector development. vancy, the New York State De- Pine barrens ecosystems are agencies across the nation and For registration, meeting, and workshop information go to: partment of Environmental found in many areas — as far allows for uniform description of http://nslsweb.nsls.bnl.gov/nsls/users/meeting Conservation, the Pine Barrens apart as New Jersey and Italy. vegetation groups. Commission, Suffolk County They may shelter more than 220 —Diane Greenberg The Bulletin May 3, 2002 Calendar Battelle Gives $5,000 to William Floyd Students of Laboratory Events As Contribution Toward Robot Built With BNL Assistance • The BERA Sales Office is located in Berkner Hall and is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information on BERA events, contact Andrea Dehler, Ext. 3347; or M. Kay Dellimore, Ext. 2873. •Additional information for Hospitality Committee events can be found at the Lollipop House and the laundry in the apartment area. • The Recreation Building (Rec. Bldg.) is located in the apartment area. • Contact names are provided for most events for more information. • Calendar events flagged with an asterisk (*) have an accompanying story in this week’s Bulletin. — EACH WEEK — Michael Herbert Weekdays: English for Speakers of Other Languages Classes Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced classes. Various times. Learn English, Make friends. For more information and class schedules, see the new ESOL website, D0860302 www.bnl.gov/esol. Jen Lynch, Ext. 4894. Mondays: BNL Gospel Choir 5:15-7 p.m.