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BERKELEY – Projects to help new mothers in Nigeria and orphans in Nepal, and to encourage bike sharing and energy efficiency in Berkeley, are among 50 student proposals receiving a total of $179,000 in the third annual "Bears Breaking Boundaries" competition at the University of California, Berkeley. "Cal students have fantastic ideas for enhancing the curriculum, improving the campus, and addressing major societal challenges such as climate change and global health," said Thomas Kalil, special assistant to the chancellor for science and technology and director of Big Ideas@Berkeley, a campus initiative which co-sponsors the student competition. "The contest is our version of 'American Idol' - it helps shine the spotlight on our most creative, energetic and entrepreneurial students." Also see Business Week Article:

Death rates from lung and bladder cancer remained high decades after residents in northern Chile were exposed to high levels of arsenic in their drinking water, according to a new study by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago.

A team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has found evidence that the prevalence of building-related symptoms (BRS) increases with increasing outdoor concentrations of the pollutant ozone. They have also discovered that the type of air filter that some buildings use in their ventilation systems may also play a role in the prevalence of BRS.

A new study by researchers from UC Berkeley and the University of Washington raises the question of whether current standards for safe levels of pesticide exposure are sufficiently protective of a vulnerable population. The study found that some newborns may be 65 to 130 times more susceptible to exposure to certain organophosphate pesticides than some adults, and 26 to 50 times more sensitive than other newborns.

Children exposed to high levels of arsenic are seven to 12 times more likely to die of lung cancer and other lung diseases in young adulthood. If also exposed in utero, the risk of dying from bronchiectasis is 46 times higher than normal, according to a new study by Allan Smith in the School of Public Health.

A study led by a team of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that in utero exposure to DDT is associated with developmental delays in young children.

UC Berkeley's Richard C. Blum Center for Developing Economies on Tuesday announced the selection of its first field projects — the East Africa Healthcare Initiative and the Initiative on Safe Water and Sanitation. Both projects address poor health status, which is both a leading cause and a debilitating impact of global poverty.