MBIB News

In celebration of the Lab’s 90th anniversary, 16 of our most popular “90 Breakthroughs” faced off in the first ever Berkeley Lab Breakthroughs Bracket Challenge on Twitter. After four weeks of public voting online, the top breakthrough was “Created a Powerful Gene Editing Tool”—otherwise known as CRISPR!

An antibody therapy that appears to neutralize all known SARS-CoV-2 strains, and other coronaviruses, was developed with a little help from structural biologist Jay Nix.

As instruments in large-scale user facilities are becoming more powerful, the volume of data and its complexity also grow. To leverage these heightened capabilities and accelerate scientific discoveries, a field known as autonomous discovery has emerged. It uses algorithms to learn from a comparatively little amount of input data and determine the best next experimental steps — all with minimal human intervention.

Mary Maxon, Associate Laboratory Director (ALD) for Biosciences, has been granted a one-year leave of absence to help advance science and technology opportunities for engineering biology and the U.S. bioeconomy. Beginning August 23, Maxon will work on temporary assignment with Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic initiative founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, as they launch a significant effort to seed the next wave of engineering biology and bioeconomy innovation. 

Paul Adams, Director of the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) Division, has been asked by Lab Director Mike Witherell to serve as the ALD for Biosciences over the coming year. While Adams is serving as Biosciences ALD, MBIB Deputy for Science Junko Yano will take on the role of Interim MBIB Division Director; Greg Hura has agreed to step into the role of Interim MBIB Science Deputy; and Susan Tsutakawa will be the Interim Head of the Structural Biology Department for the coming year.

Scientists from three national laboratories who specialize in revealing the atomic structure of proteins collaborated to model the complex protein responsible for SARS-CoV-2 replication, revealing potential weak spots for drug development.