At the cellular level, as a virus invades, its DNA or RNA trigger immune responses in the healthy host cells. How this process is triggered and a better understanding of the specific enzymes involved is still being defined. A collaboration across multiple X-ray facilities, including the Berkeley Center for Structural Biology beamlines at the Advanced Light Source (ALS), compared the enzymes involved in both human and insect immune responses. They used protein crystallography to closely examine the structures, and learned that although overall function is similar, each group of organisms has a slightly different DNA-binding surface and resulting molecular immune response.
DNA Synthesis: Flip It and Reverse It
Every time our cells divide, the DNA inside must be copied accurately to avoid mistakes that could be harmful to our health. Known as DNA synthesis, the precise sequence of steps has until now only been hypothesized. In a recent study, timestamps have been added to step-by-step snapshots, revealing a switch-up between two of the steps that, if replicated in additional studies, would upend our current assumptions of the process.
Scientist at Berkeley Lab Played a Hand in ‘Inescapable’ COVID-19 Antibody Discovery
An antibody therapy that appears to neutralize all known SARS-CoV-2 strains, and other coronaviruses, was developed with a little help from structural biologist Jay Nix.
Automating Scientific Discoveries
As instruments in large-scale user facilities are becoming more powerful, the volume of data and its complexity also grow. To leverage these heightened capabilities and accelerate scientific discoveries, a field known as autonomous discovery has emerged. It uses algorithms to learn from a comparatively little amount of input data and determine the best next experimental steps — all with minimal human intervention.
Deconstructing the Infectious Machinery of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus
Scientists from three national laboratories who specialize in revealing the atomic structure of proteins collaborated to model the complex protein responsible for SARS-CoV-2 replication, revealing potential weak spots for drug development.
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