MBIB News

An international team led by researchers in Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) Division has revealed a key step in the molecular mechanism behind the water splitting reaction of photosynthesis. The finding could help inform the design of renewable energy technology.

Data gathered at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source (ALS) by an international team of researchers indicate that antibodies derived from SARS survivors could potently block entry of SARS-CoV-2 and other closely related coronaviruses into host cells. Such antibodies could be used as a preventative treatment or as a post-exposure therapy.

Corie Ralston and Marc Allaire, both staff scientists, have been promoted to new leadership positions. Ralston has assumed the position of Facility Director for the Biological Nanostructures Facility at the Molecular Foundry. Allaire has been appointed Head of the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) Division’s Berkeley Center for Structural Biology (BCSB). The BCSB manages six macromolecular crystallography beamlines at the Advanced Light Source (ALS).

Metalloenzymes play an important role in biological systems, including physiology, agriculture, and photosynthesis. Understanding the fundamental chemical mechanism of enzymes is critical for optimizing the biochemical pathways for many aspects of life. In a paper published in Acta Crystallographica Section D, scientists in the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) Division present new computational methods that will enable metalloprotein studies at X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) light sources. 

James Hurley, a faculty scientist in the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, has been elected into the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in recognition of his distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.