Biosciences News

A team of researchers led by NCXT Director Carolyn Larabell, in collaboration with scientists at Heidelberg University in Germany, used a technique called soft X-ray tomography (SXT) to quickly scan and analyze human lung cells infected with SARS-CoV-2. SXT not only significantly shortens the time frame, but provides more detail—increasing the chances of distinguishing subtle changes in the cell.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently awarded more than $40 million, distributed over five years, for a project that aims to compare two positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agents widely used to visualize misfolded tau protein—one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer disease (AD) and other dementias—in living brains. The effort will be led by co-principal investigators Suzanne Baker, a computational staff scientist in the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) Division, and Tharick Pascoal, an assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt).

Pamela Ronald, biologist faculty scientist in the Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division (EGSB) and the Joint BioEnergy Institute’s (JBEI) director of grass genetics in the feedstocks division, has been awarded the 2022 Wolf Prize in Agriculture. The prestigious international science prizes are awarded annually to scientists whose work provides exceptional contributions to humanity.

Corinne Scown, the Joint BioEnergy Institute’s (JBEI) Vice President for Life-Cycle, Economics and Agronomy and Director of Life-Cycle and Technoeconomic Analysis, has won the 2022 ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Lectureship Award for the Americas. She was honored for “her contributions integrating emerging technology development with rigorous technoeconomic analysis and life-cycle assessment.”

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has announced that 564 of its members—among them four scientists at Berkeley Lab—have been elected Fellows as part of the 2021 class. The two newly named Fellows from the Biosciences Area are: Eva Nogales, a senior faculty scientist in the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) Division, and Scott Baker an affiliate with the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI).