Biosciences News

Biophysicist Eva Nogales, a senior faculty scientist in the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, is a 2023 recipient of the Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine. Nogales, who is also a UC Berkeley distinguished professor of biochemistry, biophysics, and structural biology, shares the prize with Patrick Cramer of the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Germany. The pair were honored for pioneering structural biology techniques that enabled visualization of the protein machines responsible for gene transcription at the level of individual atoms.

High-throughput stable isotope probing (SIP) proved to vastly reduce labor and improve results. Applying this method to the study of a particular fungi, researchers identified novel interactions between bacteria and the fungi.

The Bioprocessing Separations Consortium, originally established in 2016 by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and led by Argonne National Laboratory, recently received a three year funding renewal to continue advancing separations technologies critical to converting biomass to low-carbon biofuel. The Biosciences Area’s Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Process Development Unit (ABPDU) represents Berkeley Lab as a partner in the consortium.

JGI users studied microbial communities at hydrothermal vents and underwater volcanoes. They found a wealth of diversity in the microorganisms there, which could lead to the development of new biotechnologies around clean energy, biofuels and bioproducts.

As part of a newly established collaborative, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) will co-lead an effort to establish a bioindustrial manufacturing capability in California’s Northern San Joaquin Valley.