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Social Media Feature Highlights 7 Lab Imaging Tools Pushing Science Forward
Lab scientists are developing new ways to see the unseen. Seven imaging advances, including two from the Biosciences Area, are helping to push science forward, from developing better batteries to peering inside cells to exploring the nature of the universe. The animation on the left shows a 3-D journey inside the center of cells, recently described in Cell Reports by scientists in the National Center for X-ray Tomography at the Advanced Light Source. These techniques were previously reported in the Berkeley Lab News Center and have been compiled into this listicle.
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Finding Diamonds in the Rough
New crystallography finding by JBEI and GLBRC benefits bioenergy industry During the kraft process used to convert wood into wood pulp, the structural material lignin is partially converted into molecules like stilbene. Stilbenes are also naturally occurring in plants and some bacteria, and may play a role in plant pathogen resistance. Currently, the deconstruction of plant biomass into cellulose and lignin is an expensive process. Lignin accounts for about 30 percent of plant cell wall carbon, and its conversion into chemicals or fuels could have a significant positive impact on the economics of processing lignocellulosic biomass. Enzymes capable of producing…
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Genes, Early Environment Sculpt the Gut Microbiome
Researchers from Berkeley Lab’s Biological Systems & Engineering (BSE) Division and the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found that genes and early environment play big roles in shaping the gut microbiome. The microbes retained a clear “signature” formed where the mice were first raised, and the characteristics carried over to the next generation. The findings, published on November 28 in the journal Nature Microbiology, could potentially be used to develop designer diets optimized to an individual’s microbiome. The BSE research team included first author Antoine Snijders, corresponding author Jian-Hua Mao, and Sasha Langley. Read more on the Berkeley…
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Brain Initiatives Generate Tsunami of Neuroscience Data
Around the world, various ‘Brain Initiatives’ are generating a tsunami of neuroscience data. But without a coherent strategy to analyze, manage and understand the data, advancements in the field will be limited. That’s why Kristofer Bouchard, research scientist in Biological Systems & Engineering Division, assembled an international team of interdisciplinary researchers to develop a plan to overcome the big data challenge. Read more at the Computational Research Division News Page.
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Bioscientists Named American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows
Two members of the Biosciences Area, Eleanor A. Blakely and Krishna K. Niyogi, were among the five Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory-affiliated researchers elected as Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) this week. This honor is bestowed for distinguished and continuing achievements in advancing science to serve society.
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