FAIRFAX, Va.—George Mason University is one of the newest partners of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) project, the university announced today.

The LSST project was listed on Friday as top priority in large ground-based astronomical facilities by the prestigious “New Worlds and New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics” committee convened by the National Research Council for the National Academy of Sciences. The so-called “Astro2010” report recommended that LSST be immediately considered for federal funding.

The telescope, which researchers hope will be built and on-line by the end of the decade, will create a 10-year movie of the section of sky visible from its perch atop a mountain in South America.  It will survey the sky deeply in multiple colors every three days with its three-billion pixel digital camera, probing the mysteries of Dark Matter and Dark Energy in order to map the dynamic changing universe. The telescope, with its 27-foot diameter primary observing mirror, will discover and track faint objects near and far, such as the millions of small asteroids within our solar system, supernovae in the most distant galaxies, and any other object that changes its brightness or its position in the sky.

Mason's role in the LSST project will involve designing the data mining techniques that will sift through all of the massive amounts of data gathered and analyzed by the telescope. Kirk Borne, associate professor of astrophysics and computational sciences at Mason, will be the liaison for the project and serve on the LSST board of advisors. He is also leading a nation-wide scientific collaboration group that will conduct data science research with the LSST data repository, which will be one of the largest scientific databases ever assembled.  The LSST data archive will consist of nearly 100 petabytes of data, roughly equivalent to 100 times all of the words printed in all of the books in all of the libraries in the world.

“The LSST project team will provide open public access to all of these data – it will be the telescope for everyone,” says Borne. “The scientific knowledge discovery potential of the LSST database is staggering, and the data mining techniques developed by our Mason scientists will enable countless new astronomical discoveries.”

Another major component of the LSST project will be its far-reaching educational initiatives. Researchers at Mason will work closely with LSST on developing projects, online activities, and media-rich experiences devoted to educating the general public about the telescope and its scientific activities. Mason’s scientists will also potentially contribute to an evolution in science education at a national level, through which students and educators carry out authentic scientific inquiries in the classroom.

"This is a very exciting piece of the puzzle because we want people to be involved and interested in the project," says Borne. "With citizen science projects on the rise, people love the prospect of doing real science and being a valuable part of data collecting. Perhaps some student doing a science fair project or an interested citizen using a smart phone application will help us to find the next big thing in astronomy.”

The Astro2010 report is a decadal survey that reviews and recommends the most important science research projects. It has been a major influence over such monumental projects as the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes.

About George Mason University

Named the #1 national university to watch in the 2009 rankings of U.S. News & World Report, George Mason University is an innovative, entrepreneurial institution with global distinction in a range of academic fields. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., Mason provides students access to diverse cultural experiences and the most sought-after internships and employers in the country.  Mason offers strong undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering and information technology, organizational psychology, health care and visual and performing arts. With Mason professors conducting groundbreaking research in areas such as climate change, public policy and the biosciences, George Mason University is a leading example of the modern, public university. George Mason University—Where Innovation Is Tradition.

FAIRFAX, Va.—A new paper by researchers at George Mason University and the University of Otago in New Zealand shows a strong link between the diversity of organisms at the bottom of the food chain and the diversity of mammals at the top.

Mark D. Uhen, a geologist at Mason, says that throughout the last 30 million years, changes in the diversity of whale species living at any given time period correlates with the evolution and diversification of diatoms, tiny, abundant algae that live in the ocean. In the paper "Climate, Critters, and Cetaceans: Cenozoic Drivers of the Evolution of Modern Whales," which was published in the latest issue of Science, Uhen and co-author Felix G. Mark of Otago show that the more kinds of diatoms living in a time period, the more kinds of whales there are.

Looking at thousands of published accounts of whale fossil records, the researchers assembled the records in a database to analyze and pinpoint the various fossils. The fossil records show a direct link between the productivity of the ocean and the variety of whale fossils. Uhen says they also found a correlation between global changes and fossil variety.

"This study shows that if we look at the bottom of the food chain, it might tell you something about the top," says Uhen. "Diatoms are key primary producers in the modern ocean, and thus help to form the base of the marine food chain. The fossil record clearly shows that diatoms and whales rose and fell in diversity together during the last 30 million years."

Uhen says this is the first time that such a correlation has been shown. Though scientists in the past have tried to answer the question of how the modern diversity of whale and dolphins arise, this question has been difficult to answer. The fossil record might not truly reflect evolutionary history, says Uhen. "Is it possible that the diversity of fossils we find through geological time might really just reflect the amount of preserved sedimentary rock paleontologists can search – the more rock there is, the more fossils we find? This comprehensive study has shown that the diversity of these fossils is in fact not driven by the sedimentary rock record."

The researchers hope these findings will encourage other specialists to look at other animals with a similar narrow ecology to see if this link translates.

Uhen is a term assistant professor in Mason's Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Earth Sciences and is an expert in marine mammal fossils. In the future, he hopes to conduct research on how the body size of whales changes over time, and how whales became the largest living organisms in the world.

For a full copy of the study, or to interview Mark D. Uhen, please contact Tara Laskowski, Office of Media and Public Relations, at tlaskows@gmu.edu or 703-993-8815.

About George Mason University

Named the #1 national university to watch in the 2009 rankings of U.S. News & World Report, George Mason University is an innovative, entrepreneurial institution with global distinction in a range of academic fields. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., Mason provides students access to diverse cultural experiences and the most sought-after internships and employers in the country. Mason offers strong undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering and information technology, organizational psychology, health care and visual and performing arts. With Mason professors conducting groundbreaking research in areas such as climate change, public policy and the biosciences, George Mason University is a leading example of the modern, public university.

Allison Macfarlane, associate professor of environmental science and policy at George Mason University, was one of 15 experts chosen by U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu for a Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future. The commission will provide recommendations for developing a safe, long-term solution to managing the nation’s used nuclear fuel and nuclear waste. In light of the administration’s decision not to proceed with the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, President Obama directed Secretary Chu to establish the commission to conduct a comprehensive review of policies for managing the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle. The commission will provide advice and make recommendations on issues including alternatives for the storage, processing and disposal of civilian and defense spent nuclear fuel and nuclear waste. Macfarlane has been studying the issue of nuclear energy policy for more than a decade and is a leading expert on nuclear-waste disposal. She recently sat on a National Research Council committee evaluating the U.S. Department of Energy's nuclear-power research and development programs and is chair of the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. "One of the most important issues facing the United States and the world is climate change," she says. "Intimately wrapped up with that is the issue of energy—which energy choices are best for a climate-constrained world." Other members of the panel include Lee Hamilton, president and director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; Brent Scowcroft, president of The Scowcroft Group, an international business advisory firm; Professor Ernie Moniz of Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Richard Meserve, former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission; Vicky Bailey, former commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; and former U.S. Senators Chuck Hagel and Pete Domenici, among others. "It will be an honor to serve with such a distinguished group of people," says Macfarlane. For more information, see the Department of Energy press release. About George Mason University Named the #1 national university to watch in the 2009 rankings of U.S. News & World Report, George Mason University is an innovative, entrepreneurial institution with global distinction in a range of academic fields. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., Mason provides students access to diverse cultural experiences and the most sought-after internships and employers in the country. Mason offers strong undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering and information technology, organizational psychology, health care and visual and performing arts. With Mason professors conducting groundbreaking research in areas such as climate change, public policy and the biosciences, George Mason University is a leading example of the modern, public university.

In the Sept. 5 issue of the journal Cell, Wu and his collaborators from the National Institutes of Health reveal the covert methods that the virus uses to break a barrier present in human CD4 T-cells, the primary immune cells targeted by the virus. HIV-1 infection causes CD4 T-cell depletion that leads to immunodeficiency and AIDS.

During the six-year study, a team largely comprised of research associates and graduate students, analyzed CD4 T-cells taken from blood and infected with HIV. The researchers found that when HIV binds to the cell surface, it uses a molecule called chemokine coreceptor CXCR4 to send a signal that activates a cell protein known as cofilin. The protein is then used to cut through the cortical actin cytoskeleton (the circular layer that lies just beneath the cell’s outer membrane).

“Similar to a human skeleton, every cell has a cytoskeletal structure that supports the cell, gives it its shape, and provides a force that allows the cell to migrate. For the virus, this layer also presents a barrier,” says Wu. “We never understood how the virus overcomes this barrier to gain access to the center of the cell. Now we know that HIV triggers the mimicking of a cell process that activates cofilin, which cuts and modifies the cortical actin cytoskeleton and permits the virus to cross it.”

Wu notes that the goal of his research was to attain a fundamental understanding of how the virus interacts with cells and the immune system in order to identify new ways to treat the disease. There is still much basic research left to be conducted before the findings from this study produce a clinical benefit. However, he believes that this discovery may later be used to develop a new treatment that could block viral interaction with, or viral alteration of, the cortical actin cytoskeleton.

“Now we have a basic understanding of the parts that cortical actin and cofilin play in all of this. This study really opened avenues for us and we hope to use this information as a foundation for more detailed studies that could lead to the development of new therapeutic tools,” says Wu. “For Cell to publish our findings is a great acknowledgment of the dedication and hard work demonstrated by my students and our group.”

This research was largely funded by George Mason University. Additional support was received from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

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 About George Mason University
Named the #1 national university to watch by U.S. News & World Report, George MasonUniversity is an innovative, entrepreneurial institution with global distinction in a range of academic fields. Located in the heart of Northern Virginia’s technology corridor nearWashington, D.C., Mason prepares its students to succeed in the work force and meet the needs of the region and the world. With strong undergraduate and graduate degree programs in engineering and information technology, dance, organizational psychology and health care, Mason students are routinely recognized with national and international scholarships. Mason professors conduct groundbreaking research in areas such as cancer, climate change, information technology and the biosciences, and Mason’s Center for the Arts brings world-renowned artists, musicians and actors to its stage.