MBIB News

Scientists working at the Berkeley Center for Structural Biology in the Advanced Light Source (ALS) recently solved the crystallographic structures of several amine transporters in an effort to better understand why the human brain responds to chemicals like dopamine and serotonin. Their findings will help design drugs to treat neurological diseases and may also lead to a better understanding of how drug addiction can be managed. The work was led by HHMI Investigator Eric Gouaux of the Oregon Health & Science University. Read the ALS Science Highlight.

Jennifer Doudna, faculty biochemist in Molecular Biophysics & Integrated Bioimaging, and her work on the CRISPR/Cas 9 gene editing system, have been highlighted recently in both The New Yorker Magazine and on CBS This Morning. The coverage discusses the benefits and perils of this technology, which is the topic of an international meeting being held currently at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC.

Ken Downing of the Molecular Biophysics & Integrated Bioimaging Division is a recipient of the 2015 Berkeley Lab Prize − Lifetime Achievement Award for his scientific advances and leadership in making Berkeley Lab among the world’s forefront centers for electron microscopy. Downing, who received the award together with Uli Dahmen and Peter Denes, has been … Read more »

Basic biology research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has led to the formation of Cinder Biological, or CinderBio, a startup company producing a new class of enzymes made from microbes, or extremophiles, that thrive in hot volcanic waters. Co-founded by Molecular Biophysics & Integrated Bioimaging scientists Steve Yannone and Jill Fuss, CinderBio will … Read more »

Scientists have gained insight on how some molecules are allowed to enter and exit the nucleus while keeping other molecules out. Their research, led by Mohammad Mofrad in the Molecular Biophysics & Integrated Bioimaging Division, is a step forward in building a more comprehensive understanding of nuclear pore complex function, which has numerous implications in … Read more »