EGSB News

As much as 10 percent of the population is thought to have a “rare disease.” Due to a lack of understanding, many of these diseases remain very difficult to diagnose and treat. Inspired by the enormous unmet needs of people with rare diseases, an international team of scientists is developing open-access tools and resources for sharing disease characteristics and treatment information.

Two scientists from the Biosciences Area, Cheryl Kerfeld and David Schaffer, have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). They join fellow Lab scientists Rebecca Abergel in the Chemical Sciences Division, Roland Burgmann and Michael Manga in the Earth and Environmental Sciences Area Energy Geosciences Division, and Natalie Roe, Director of the Physics Division, in receiving the distinction of Fellow this year for “their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.”

The gut microbiome undergoes rapid and dramatic changes in species composition and gene expression when the host switches between eating cooked or raw vegetables, according to a team of scientists led by UC San Francisco and Harvard University. Their new study, published in Nature Microbiology, is the first to investigate how this aspect of diet affects the microbiome, and included experiments in both mice and humans.

In early October, Chris Mungall, who leads the Molecular Ecosystems Biology Department in Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology (EGSB), and members of his group hosted the biannual Gene Ontology Consortium (GOC) meeting.

Several Biosciences Area personnel are among the 2019 Berkeley Lab Director’s Awards honorees. This annual program recognizes outstanding contributions by employees to all facets of Lab activities. A complete list of winners can be found here. The Director’s Achievement Awards ceremony will take place on November 15 at 4 PM in the Building 50 Auditorium. All staff are invited and the event will be streamed live.