Colorful illustration of spherical lipid nanoparticles.

some more text

Digital illustration of coiled molecules assembled into larger constructs.

some more text

Man in large hall
  • Bacteria for Blastoff: Using Microbes to Make Supercharged New Rocket Fuel

    Bacteria for Blastoff: Using Microbes to Make Supercharged New Rocket Fuel

    A group of biofuel experts led by Berkeley Lab took inspiration from an extraordinary antifungal molecule made by Streptomyces bacteria to develop a totally new type of fuel that has projected energy density greater than the most advanced heavy-duty fuels used today, including the rocket fuels used by NASA.

    Read the article
  • Using Bacteria to Accelerate Carbon Dioxide Capture in Oceans

    Using Bacteria to Accelerate Carbon Dioxide Capture in Oceans

    Peter Agbo, a staff scientist in the Chemical Sciences Division, with a secondary appointment in the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) Division, has proposed a novel method for direct ocean capture of carbon using microbes. Removing CO2 from the oceans will enable them to continue to do their job of absorbing excess CO2 from the atmosphere.

    Read the article
  • Q&A: Two Greenhouse Gases; One Microbe

    Q&A: Two Greenhouse Gases; One Microbe

    Biosciences Area scientist, Deepika Awasthi has a big idea to capture two major greenhouse gases while producing a useful biochemical, by engineering a microbe to do the work.

    Read the article
  • Secrets of the Centromere Revealed by First Gapless Human Genome Sequence

    Secrets of the Centromere Revealed by First Gapless Human Genome Sequence

    The newly completed genome, dubbed T2T-CHM13, represents a major upgrade from the current reference genome, called GRCh38, which is used by doctors when searching for mutations linked to disease, as well as by scientists looking at the evolution of human genetic variation. Among other things, the new DNA sequences reveal never-before-seen detail about the region around the centromere, which is where chromosomes are grabbed and pulled apart when cells divide, ensuring that each “daughter” cell inherits the correct number of chromosomes.

    Read the article
  • Microbes to the Rescue

    Microbes to the Rescue

    A team of researchers from the Biosciences Area at Berkeley Lab and the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom found one particular organism in the fly’s microbiome that helps protect it from atrazine, an herbicide toxic to flies that is commonly used in agriculture. This method of rescuing fruit flies from atrazine poisoning with probiotics may be useful for protecting pollinators in agriculture.

    Read the article