Jacqueline Barton

Jacqueline Barton is on intimate terms with DNA, the master molecule of life. She knows its secret crevices, weird loops, strange digressions and switchbacks. When she talks about DNA, her hands trace its imaginary contours, lovingly, like a sculpture. They slice through the air, showing how the "steps" in the DNA ladder stack up on each other like a pile of coins. She pokes at a huge plastic DNA model in her office to show how it jiggles, probes it like a doctor palpating a patient.

Jacqueline K. Barton, a Caltech chemistry professor who has pushed the boundaries of DNA research, has been awarded the National Medal of Science, becoming the first woman at the Pasadena campus to receive what is considered the U.S. government's highest honor to scientists, officials announced Tuesday. Barton was one of seven recipients of this year's medal, a prize that her husband, Peter Dervan, also a Caltech chemist, won in 2006. Administrators of the prize, which was first awarded in 1962, said they were not aware of any other husband and wife who had both received it. The White House cited Barton for the discovery of a new property of the DNA helix and experiments on long-range electron transfers.

Jacqueline K. Barton, a Caltech chemistry professor who has pushed the boundaries of DNA research, has been awarded the National Medal of Science, becoming the first woman at the Pasadena campus to receive what is considered the U.S. government's highest honor to scientists, officials announced Tuesday. Barton was one of seven recipients of this year's medal, a prize that her husband, Peter Dervan, also a Caltech chemist, won in 2006. Administrators of the prize, which was first awarded in 1962, said they were not aware of any other husband and wife who had both received it. The White House cited Barton for the discovery of a new property of the DNA helix and experiments on long-range electron transfers.

Jacqueline Barton is on intimate terms with DNA, the master molecule of life. She knows its secret crevices, weird loops, strange digressions and switchbacks. When she talks about DNA, her hands trace its imaginary contours, lovingly, like a sculpture. They slice through the air, showing how the "steps" in the DNA ladder stack up on each other like a pile of coins. She pokes at a huge plastic DNA model in her office to show how it jiggles, probes it like a doctor palpating a patient.

Jacqueline K. Barton, a Caltech professor of chemistry, has been awarded the 1992 Garvan Medal, recognizing distinguished service to chemistry by women chemists. Barton is a bioinorganic chemist who studies the chemistry gene expression, DNA and metal complexes.

A 14-year-old girl who had been in critical condition since being hit by a car while bicycling last week died Wednesday, police said. On June 23, Jacqueline R. Barton of Cypress was riding on Orangewood Avenue when she was struck as she tried to turn left onto Newland Street. Paramedics from the Orange County Fire Department airlifted the unconscious girl to UCI Medical Center in Orange. The driver of the car was not injured, Police Sgt. Ray Peterson said.

The plants and animals that live in the Earth's darkest environments are the focus of an exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. "In the Dark" explores the worlds of a forest at night, a limestone cave, the ocean depths, life found beneath a typical backyard and how humans have adapted to the dark. There are interactive displays for kids--and adults--to tinker with, such as the computer game "Robomite" in which children help navigate a termite through the dark underground.

One of the most divisive questions in the affirmative action debate is whether the preferences hurt the very people they were intended to help. Some researchers have found that the stigma of being hired as part of an affirmative action effort erodes self-esteem and colors people "presumed incompetent" in the eyes of their colleagues. Others have found the opposite: that people benefiting from affirmative action feel welcomed, and appreciate the opportunity to display their abilities.

Caltech chemist Ahmed H. Zewail won the Nobel Prize for chemistry Tuesday for finding a way to freeze-frame the private matings of molecules using ultra-fast laser probes, a technique with the potential to revolutionize everything from dentistry to microelectronics.

Three Caltech scholars who answered the phone recently received the kind of news many scientists desire but few dare expect--they had been secretly nominated, discussed and finally awarded MacArthur Foundation fellowships. They were among 31 fellows in the United States and Europe announced Monday, and will divide--no strings attached--$875,000. In addition to the Caltech academics, the winners include historian Taylor Branch and documentary filmmaker Marcel Ophuls.