Biosciences News

Holger Mueller, a faculty scientist in the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) Division, has received a grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) to develop next-generation electron microscopy technology to visualize the inner workings of cells at near-atomic resolution.

A recent study published in Nature Plants used a combination of genetic mutation and X-ray crystallography, conducted at the Berkeley Center for Structural Biology, to reveal structural details of a key enzyme involved in plant signaling.

In Nature Ecology and Evolution, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, the University of East Anglia, and the JGI have explored the genome of the polar algae Microglena sp. YARC. The green alga harbors extra genes for proteins requiring zinc, and those genes turn out to be key for the phytoplankton’s ability to live in cold polar waters. Learn more here on the JGI website.

Biosciences Area staff recently hosted 40 PhD students from Wageningen University in the Netherlands over two days at Emery Station East (ESE) and the Integrative Genomics Building (IGB). The group launched their two-week California tour in the Bay Area, stopping by local biotechnology companies and prominent academic research institutions. The contingent visited ESE to tour the facility, make presentations, and discuss potential collaborations. At the IGB, the students attended a day-long symposium that included short talks, tours of several user facilities, and a poster reception.

Peter Agbo, a staff scientist in the Chemical Sciences Division, with a secondary appointment in the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) Division, has proposed a novel method for direct ocean capture of carbon using microbes. Removing CO2 from the oceans will enable them to continue to do their job of absorbing excess CO2 from the atmosphere.