Biosciences News

In two American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) award essays published in the society’s journal Molecular Biology of the Cell, Mina Bissell, distinguished scientist in the Biological Systems & Engineering Division, and Eva Nogales, faculty structural biologist in the Molecular Biologist in the Molecular Biophysics & Integrated Bioimaging Division, each candidly describe their inspiring, personal journeys.

In a new study, faculty scientist Mohammad Mofrad from the Molecular Biophysics & Integrated Bioimaging Division, together with his Ph.D. student Mohammad Soheilypour, shed light on a complex system of cell regulation that acts as a form of quality control for the transport of genetic information out of the nucleus. Getting a more complete picture of how genetic information gets expressed in cells is important in disease research, the researchers say.

“Some components of this machinery are dysregulated in various types of cancers,” explains Mofrad. “Understanding the molecular mechanism of genetic information transport and quality control would substantially improve the current knowledge about various types of cancers and other human diseases.” Their findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports of November 2. Read the full story on the Berkeley Lab News Center.

The Compact Dynamic Beamstop (CDBS), a compact, customizable tool for X-ray scattering experiments providing real-time data, developed by Diane Bryant and Simon Morton of the Molecular Biophysics & Integrated Bioimaging Division, has been recognized with a 2016 R&D 100 Award. It was one of 100 technologies and services introduced last year deemed most significant by an independent panel of judges.

R&D Magazine‘s R&D 100 Awards, established 54 years ago, presented this year’s awards at the November 3 annual black-tie awards dinner in Washington, D.C. Four other technologies developed by researchers at Berkeley Lab­ were among the awardees, including enabling energy-saving cool roofs, long-lived lithium-sulfur batteries, safer drinking water, and reduced carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Read more at the Berkeley Lab News Center.

Biosciences researchers will contribute their expertise to two new projects, “Data Analytics at the Exascale for Free Electron Lasers” and “Exascale Solutions for Microbiome Analysis,” funded by DOE to develop cutting-edge research applications for next-generation supercomputers as part of DOE’s Exascale Computing Project (ECP), a component of President Obama’s National Strategic Computing Initiative that intends to maximize the benefits of high-performance computing for U.S. economic competiveness, national security and scientific discovery. ECP announced its first round of funding on September 7 with the selection of 15 application development proposals for full funding and seven proposals for seed funding.

For a second year, JBEI collaborated with the Bay Area Science Festival, the largest science education event in the Bay Area. JBEI organized on October 27 an Explorer Day for the public which included a tour of its labs, and on November 5 JBEI’s volunteers participated at BASF’s closing event, the Discovery Day at AT&T Park. JBEI organized a number of activities to help raise awareness about the benefits of biofuels. Read more on the JBEI website.