Biosciences Area

iCLEM Summer Science Program’s Recipe for Success

The Introductory College Level Experience in Microbiology (iCLEM) summer intensive, hosted and run by the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) in Emeryville, immerses Bay Area high school students in the biological sciences through a curriculum of instruction, hands-on basic laboratory skill training, and tours of working labs within JBEI and local biotech companies. Since the program first launched in 2008, 95% of participants have gone on to continue their education at two or four-year colleges and universities, with 80% majoring in science or engineering. Given that the program specifically recruits teens who face socioeconomic hurdles to higher education, this impressive attendance rate is a point of pride among the scientists and educators who make iCLEM happen. Hoping to spread their prodigiously successful model beyond the confines of JBEI, a group of former and current scientific advisors have shared the iCLEM curriculum in the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education.

Read more in the Berkeley Lab News Center.

Keasling Featured in NHK World, Japan’s Public TV Station

Jay Keasling, JBEI’s Chief Executive Officer, was featured in NHK World’s interview program “Direct Talk”. Keasling, a pioneer of synthetic biology, talks about the impact that this interdisciplinary technology can have in people’s lives as well as addresses its safety concerns.

Direct Talk is a program that interviews leaders, visionaries and pioneers who shape the world and is broadcast to 300-million households in 160 countries in six different language subtitles.

Watch the interview

Scientists Find a Molecular Switch for Better Biofuels

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and collaborators at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have identified a molecular mechanism in bacteria that can be manipulated to promote tolerance to Imidazolium ionic liquid (IIL) solvents, and therefore overcome a key roadblock in biofuel and biochemical production processes. The research appears in the Journal of Bacteriology.

Turning the Switch on Biofuels

switchgrassImidazolium ionic liquid (IIL) solvents are one of the best sources for extracting sugars from plants. But the sugars from IIL-treated biomass are inevitably contaminated with residual IILs that inhibit growth in bacteria and yeast, blocking biochemical production by these organisms.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and collaborators at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have identified a molecular mechanism in bacteria that can be manipulated to promote IIL tolerance, and therefore overcome a key gap in biofuel and biochemical production processes. The research appears in the Journal of Bacteriology.

Read more in the JBEI website.

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