Colorful illustration of spherical lipid nanoparticles. Digital illustration of coiled molecules assembled into larger constructs. 2025 Guggenheim Fellowship logo alongside researcher headshot Side by side colorized positron emission tomography images of two brains in coronal cross-section.
  • Scientists Explore Links Between Genetics, Gut Microbiome, and Memory

    Scientists Explore Links Between Genetics, Gut Microbiome, and Memory

    A team of researchers from two U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories has found new evidence of tangible connections between the gut and the brain. The team, led by Antoine Snijders at Berkeley Lab and Janet Jansson at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), identified lactate—a molecule produced by all species of one gut microbe—as a key memory-boosting molecular messenger. The work was published in the journal BMC Microbiome.

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  • Berkeley Lab to Conduct R&D to Improve the Nation’s COVID-19 Testing Capabilities

    Berkeley Lab to Conduct R&D to Improve the Nation’s COVID-19 Testing Capabilities

    Berkeley Lab is part of a multi-laboratory working group that recently received DOE Office of Science funding under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to conduct R&D to help improve the nation’s COVID-19 testing capabilities. Three of our Biosciences Area researchers are helping to lead the Lab’s efforts.

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  • Biosciences Area FY21 LDRD Projects

    The projects of 15 Biosciences Area scientists and engineers received funding through the FY21 Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program.

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  • Mina Bissell Awarded 2020 Canada Gairdner International Award

    Mina Bissell Awarded 2020 Canada Gairdner International Award

    Mina Bissell, distinguished senior scientist in the Biological Systems and Engineering (BSE) Division, is one of five recipients of the 2020 Canada Gairdner International Award – an annual honor given to scientists who have contributed to transformative human health research.

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  • Microbiome Signature Could Predict Post-op Enterocolitis in Hirschsprung Disease Patients

    Microbiome Signature Could Predict Post-op Enterocolitis in Hirschsprung Disease Patients

    Biosciences Area researchers, in collaboration with colleagues at Nanjing Medical University in China, performed the first study to prospectively investigate the gut microbiome in relation to Hirschsprung-associated enterocolitis (HAEC), a leading cause of death in Hirschsprung disease patients. They identified a microbiome signature that might predict the development of postoperative HAEC. In addition, they found that exclusive breastfeeding might reduce the risk of HAEC through modulation of the intestinal microbiome.

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