Biosciences Area researchers and their collaborators have determined how a protein called XPG binds to and reshapes damaged DNA, illuminating its role in averting genetic disease and cancer.
Programming Proteins to Pair Perfectly
Bioscientists at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) at Berkeley Lab lent their expertise to a project led by scientists at the University of Washington to design proteins in the lab that zip together like DNA. The technique could enable the design of protein nanomachines to help diagnose and treat disease, allow for more precise engineering of cells, and perform a variety of other tasks.
Strong Biosciences Presence at East Bay STEM Career Awareness Day
The 7th Annual East Bay STEM Career Awareness Day took place on April 26 at Wareham Development’s Aquatic Park Center in West Berkeley, home to Biosciences Operations @ Berkeley and several Area research groups. The event, organized by the Institute for STEM Education housed at California State University East Bay, had support from Berkeley Lab and several East Bay-based businesses.
NIH Awards $6.5 Million for Augmenting Structural Biology Research Experience
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded $6.5 million to Berkeley Lab to integrate existing synchrotron structural biology resources to better serve researchers. The grant will establish a center based at the Lab’s Advanced Light Source (ALS) called ALS-ENABLE that will guide users through the most appropriate routes for answering their specific biological questions.
Researchers ID New Mechanism for Keeping DNA Protein in Line
Using a combination of crystallographic, biochemical, and genetic analyses, Berkeley Lab researchers have shown that the actions of FEN1, an enzyme involved in DNA replication and repair, are guided by electrostatic forces known as phosphate steering. Susan Tsutakawa and John Tainer in the Biosciences Area’s Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) Division were the lead and corresponding authors, respectively, on the report published this week in Nature Communications. The work reveals key details of this previously unknown mechanism controlling the specificity of FEN1 in healthy cells and provides new directions for cancer treatment research. Read more from the Berkeley Lab News Center.
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