A group of Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley physical chemists led by Jay Groves, faculty scientist in Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB), has—for the first time—imaged the process by which an individual immune system molecule is switched on in response to a signal from the environment. This breakthrough led to the discovery that the immune system activation process involves hundreds of proteins suddenly coming together to form a linked network through a process known as phase transition. Critically, the process has a built in time delay which allows the cell to distinguish a genuine receptor stimulation from background chemical noise. The work is described in a paper recently published in the journal Science.
Working the Core: Insights into Transcription Factor IIH Function
A team of scientists from the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) Division and UC Berkeley has constructed the first complete atomic blueprint of a complicated molecular machine that is crucial to repairing and reading DNA. These protein assemblies, human transcription initiation factor IIH (TFIIH), are essential to survival, yet we know little about how they function because, until recently, it was impossible to accurately describe their structure.
Nanotubes Simplify Genetic Engineering of Plants
Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) faculty scientist Markita Landry has developed a simplified technique for genetically engineering any type of plant that could speed the introduction of new and beneficial genes. While trying to label plant cells with nanotube sensors, Landry, an assistant professor in UC Berkeley’s chemical and biomolecular engineering department, discovered that nanotubes easily slip though plant cell walls, which are known for their tough layers. She immediately saw how to flip this around to deliver genes into plants; she and her colleagues describe the technique in Nature Nanotechnology.
Jagust Wins Radical Ideas in Brain Science Challenge
Congratulations to William Jagust, senior faculty scientist in the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging Division, for winning the 2018 Radical Ideas in Brain Science Challenge, made possible through the generosity of Berkeley Brain Initiative donors. Jagust, who is also Professor of Public Health at UC Berkeley, will receive up to $190,000 over two years to investigate the degradation of the blood-brain barrier as a potential paradigm-shifting culprit in Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
Two New Additions to CRISPR Toolkit
UC Berkeley and Berkeley Lab scientists have expanded the CRISPR gene-editing toolkit with the addition of a new, compact CRISPR-associated (Cas) protein—the RNA-guided “scissors” that snip DNA—and a modification of the Cas9 protein to give it an “on” switch for better control.
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