Biosciences News

Scientists at the Berkeley Center for Structural Biology contributed resources and data to a recently-published study revealing a new site on the coronavirus spike protein used by antibodies to block the invasion of the virus into healthy cells. The discovery of this new antibody binding site will help scientists as they work to continue improving treatment and vaccine formulations for COVID-19 and its variants.

The projects of 17 Biosciences Area scientists and engineers received funding through the FY22 Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program.

Four Biosciences employees were selected by Berkeley Lab leadership and the Women Scientists and Engineers Council (WSEC) for recognition as part of the 2020 Women @ the Lab awards. The biennial program, now in its fourth year, spotlights women at the Lab for meritorious professional contributions, leadership, mentorship, and outreach.

The last common ancestor of humans and rodents lived more than 80 million years ago, and billions of changes in their respective DNA sequences have occurred over this vast timespan. Yet, intriguingly, there are a few hundred stretches of DNA in our genome that are still identical to the corresponding sequences in mice and rats. Generally, sequence conservation between distantly related species is an indication that the function the DNA serves is vitally important and highly sensitive to mutations. For example, most DNA sequences that encode proteins show at least moderate conservation in evolution. However, more than two-thirds of the “ultraconserved” sequences shared by humans and rodents are outside of protein-coding genes, raising the question of what led to their extreme level of conservation.

A project led by Eric Sundstrom, a research scientist at the Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Process Development Unit (ABPDU), combines biology and electrochemistry to produce complex molecules, all powered by renewable energy. Sundstrom spoke with Berkeley Lab on how this technology could help combat climate change.