Biosciences News

Structurally Integrated Biology for Life Sciences (SIBYLS) beamline researchers, led by research scientist Michal Hammel of the Molecular Biophysics & Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) Division, used X-ray scattering to define an unexpected key role for unfolded protein regions in DNA break repair to allow regulation plus access to DNA ends. The concept of DNA break repair as a flexibly-linked dynamic complex, as opposed to a linear pathway, suggests new approaches to targeting DNA repair for selectively killing cancer cells due to their high levels of DNA instability. Their findings were published in a recent cover article of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

The SIBYLS beamline of the Advanced Light Source at Berkeley Lab, directed by MBIB’s senior scientist John Tainer, is optimized for both small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and macromolecular crystallography (MX), making it unique among the world’s mostly SAXS or MX dedicated beamlines.

Steven Brenner, a biologist faculty scientist in the Environmental Genomics & Systems Biology Division and a UC Berkeley computational biologist, was part of an interdisciplinary, international research team that has identified the rare genetic mutation responsible for a unique case of “boy in the bubble” disease, known as severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), a deadly immune system disorder. The researchers found that the cause was a mutated version of a gene called BCL11B, which also plays an unexpected role in the normal processes of immune system development.

“This is a gene that had never been associated with SCID before, which required more advanced genome analysis techniques to discover,” said Brenner, co-author of the study, published on December 1 in the New England Journal of Medicine. “Moreover, unlike variants in every other known SCID gene, this mutation is dominant, which means you only need one copy of this mutation to disrupt multiple aspects of development.” Read more at UC Berkeley News.

Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier were awarded the 2017 Japan Prize in a press conference on February 2 by the Japan Prize Foundation, in Tokyo, for their roles in the development of the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing system, a revolutionary tool that promises cures for many heritable diseases. The Japan Prize is awarded annually to scientists and engineers from around the world who have made significant contributions to the advancement of science and technology, thereby furthering the cause of peace and prosperity of mankind.

According to the Foundation’s press release, Doudna, faculty scientist in the Molecular Biophysics & Integrated Bioimaging Division, UC Berkeley professor of chemistry and of molecular and cell biology, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator; and Charpentier of the Max Planck Institute in Berlin were honored “for deciphering the molecular details of the type II bacterial immune system CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)-Cas and the creation of the CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing system, a truly revolutionary technique in genetic engineering, far more economical and faster than those previously available.” Read more at UC Berkeley News.

The Vilcek Foundation is honoring Ahmet Yildiz, faculty scientist in Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging, who has demonstrated evidence of creative promise with his scientific work in the United States. Yildiz uses single molecule imaging to uncover the mechanism of molecular motors that function in living cells. As a winner of the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science, Yildiz will receive a $50,000 cash award.

“The Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise were established in 2009 as a complement to the Vilcek Prizes, to encourage and support young immigrants who have already demonstrated exceptional achievements, and who often face significant challenges early in their careers,” the Foundation’s website reads.

Yildiz’s story, including his unexpected journey from his native Turkey to the United States, his introduction to the American research culture, and his work across disciplines (critical in creating environments where scientific breakthroughs could more easily occur, he says), are highlighted in this ASCB member news post by Mary Spiro. The award was also announced in Physics@Berkeley.

Berkeley Lab researchers found that the sticky residue left behind by tobacco smoke led to changes in weight and blood cell count in mice. These latest findings add to a growing body of evidence that thirdhand smoke exposure may be harmful.

Researchers from the Biosciences Biological Systems and Engineering Division (BSE) and the Energy Technologies Area (ETA) teamed up with scientists at UC San Francisco and Nanjing Medical University for the study. The findings, reported in a Feb. 3 paper in Scientific Reports, suggest that the dangers associated with smoking continue long after the cigarette is snuffed out. Read more in the Berkeley Lab News Center.