Biosciences Area

Gemini Beamline Banks First Protein Structure

A protein structure obtained at Beamline 2.0.1 (“Gemini”) at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) has recently been published in the literature and deposited into the Protein Data Bank—two significant firsts for this beamline. The structure helped provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms involved in triggering certain inflammatory diseases. This milestone, which utilized Gemini’s capacity to target crystals smaller than 20 microns, was almost a decade in the making. Simon Morton, now a semi-retired staff scientist at ALS, and Corie Ralston, facility director at the Molecular Foundry and a staff scientist in the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division (MBIB), helped bring the microfocus beamline to the Berkeley Center for Structural Biology (BCSB) in 2014. Beamline operations are now led by Marc Allaire, a biophysicist staff scientist in MBIB and head of the BCSB.

Read More in the Berkeley Lab News Center.

Anthony Rozales, Beamline Runner

For Anthony Rozales, his shift overseeing the protein crystallography beamlines begins before the sun rises. While some might find the early mornings grueling, for him it’s ideal. Most days, after his shift ends and he makes it home, Rozales usually turns right around and leaves again, this time on foot.

Adams Appointed ALD for Biosciences

Berkeley Lab Director Mike Witherell has appointed Paul Adams to the position of Associate Lab Director (ALD) for Biosciences. Adams has been serving as the interim ALD for the Biosciences Area since 2021, taking over for Mary Maxon, who is now with Schmidt Futures. Over the past two decades, Adams has played an important role promoting Berkeley Lab’s leadership in structural biology nationally and internationally. As ALD, Adams will continue to advance the Area’s scientific vision and operations excellence while advancing IDEA principles and broadening outreach to institutions serving groups that are underrepresented in STEM.

BCSB Confirms AI-predicted Structure of Key Rotavirus Site

The effects of a stomach flu can range from pesky to deadly. Researchers recently used an AI program to predict the structure of a common rotavirus and collaborated with a Biosciences researcher working at the Advanced Light Source to validate their novel finding.

Study Expands Horizons for DNA Nanotechnology

Researchers at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute conducted the first systematic study of Holliday junctions—the nexus of two segments of double-stranded DNA—using crystallography techniques performed at the Advanced Light Source, the Argonne Photon Source, and the National Synchrotron Light Source II.

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