Sugars Imaged In Live Animals

The first technique for imaging carbohydrates as they are produced on cell surfaces of live animals has been developed in the lab of Chemistry/MCB Professor Carolyn Bertozzi. The new technique, based on cell-friendly fluorescent-labeling chemistry devised by the same group, will help scientists more closely probe the functional roles of carbohydrates during development and in both health and disease.
(May 2008)

CIRM awards $20 million for stem cell research facilities

On Wednesday, May 7, The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine awarded $20.18 million to the University of California, Berkeley, to build centralized stem cell laboratories on campus in a new biomedical research building now under construction.
(May 2008)

Doctor on Call

A team led by bioengineering professor Dan Fletcher has developed a cheap attachment to turn the digital camera on many of today's mobile phones into a microscope. Called a CellScope, it can show individual white and red blood cells, which means it can be used to identify the parasite that causes malaria. Moreover, by transmitting an image directly over the mobile network, the CellScope could greatly help with the remote diagnosis and monitoring of many illnesses.
(May 2008)

5 new HHMI investigators to be announced May 27

Five UC Berkeley faculty members have received one of the most sought-after honors in biomedical research: appointment as Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators with guaranteed research support for five, 10 or more years into the future. Four of the investigators are affiliates of the California Institute of Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), and one is an affiliate of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute.
(May 2008)

Three faculty members elected to National Academy of Sciences

Three UC Berkeley professors have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), one of the nation's most prestigious societies of scholars engaged in science and engineering research. Election to the academy is considered one of the highest honors that can be accorded a U.S. scientist or engineer. New Members include Michael Botchan, professor of molecular and cell biology, and Jasper Rine, professor of molecular and cell biology, director of UC Berkeley's Center for Computational Biology and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute professor.
(April 2008)

Five faculty elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences

Professors John Kuriyan and Jasper Rine were among five UC Berkeley faculty elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious honorary societies and independent policy research centers. Kuriyan is a Chancellor's Professor in the departments of molecular and cell biology and chemistry, and an investigator in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Rine is a professor of molecular and cell biology, director of UC Berkeley's Center for Computational Biology and also an HHMI professor.
(April 2008)

UC Berkeley and Stanford University launch joint stem cell research

The University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University School of Medicine will join forces in a new stem cell initiative that will catalyze research and serve as a magnet for scholars from around the world. The Siebel Stem Cell Institute, established by the Thomas and Stacey Siebel Foundation, is a joint initiative between the Berkeley Stem Cell Center and the Stanford Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Institute, two of the world's leading institutions at the forefront of biomedical science.
(March 2008)

The Copy Machine of the Cell

Michael Botchtan, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has unraveled the mystery of how DNA replicates in different organisms. Starting with viruses and continuing on to embryonic fruit flies, Botchan mapped the initiation site on a chromosome where replication begins and found the core replication machine, which includes a six-protein complex used at all DNA replication sites. This work helps prove that organisms ranging from simple to more complex have nearly identical chromosome copying methods, cementing the relationship of all life forms back to that first ancestral cell.
(January 2008)

Researcher Michael Rape aims to target chemo to specific cancerous cells, saving the rest

Michael Rape, Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology at UC Berkeley, is developing a method by which cancer cells may be targeted specifically, without the adverse affects current therapeutics have on other cells in the body. To support his work, Rape recently received a $240,000 Pew Scholar Award, along with a $1.5M New Innovator Award from the National Institutes of Health, which is given to researchers with promising ideas that are not necessarily based on prior research.
(December 2007)

Stem cell grant will spur research on rejuvenating muscle

Irina Conboy, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering and a researcher with the QB3 institute, has received a $2.25 million New Faculty Award from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). The grant will forward Conboy’s research into the deterioration of aging tissues in the body, and her effort to use stem cells to initiate regeneration.
(December 2007)

New technique captures chemical reactions in a single living cell for the first time

Detecting the earliest signs of disease progression or stem cell proliferation requires drilling down to the molecules within a single cell. Researchers at Berkeley, led by Luke Lee, professor of bioengineering and director of the Biomolecular Nanotechnology Center, have developed a way to detect molecular activity within a single living cell using the frequency by which molecules absorb light. This technique offers vast improvement over that of MRI, which is only able to provide information about clusters of cells, and could lead to a new era in molecular imaging with implications for cell-based drug discovery and biomedical diagnostics.
(November 2007)

Signaling an End to TB

One of the most urgent and significant concerns in the field of public health is the increasing number of patients worldwide with drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis. Tom Alber, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Berkeley, is working to characterize the class of enzymes that TB uses to adapt to its environment. This may lead to the development of therapeutics that will inhibit even the most resistant strains of TB. The same process could also be applied to HIV.
(November 2007)

The Chemotherapy of the Future

While cancer drugs like Taxol are highly effective in slowing the growth of cancer cells, they also arrest and sometimes kill other cells in the body. Michael Rape, assistant professor of cell and developmental biology is working to fine-tune cancer therapies that will aim to stop the growth of specific cells, using a class of enzymes called ubiquitin ligases. The resulting tissue-specific chemotherapy could revolutionize the way cancer is treated.
(October 2007)

Ten scientists named fellows of AAAS

Ten UC Berkeley scientists were recently honored with fellowships by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Among the 471 scientists chosen nationwide, those representing UC Berkeley include: Randy W. Schekman, professor of molecular and cell biology; Judith Klinman, professor of chemistry; Nicholas P. Jewell, professor of biostatistics and statistics; and Stephen Hinshaw, professor of psychology. The scientists were recognized for their "for their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications."
(October 2007)

Sleep loss linked to psychiatric disorders

In a recent UC Berkeley study, sleep-deprived subjects had much stronger emotional reactions to negative images than those who had had a normal night of sleep. Matthew Walker, assistant professor of psychology and the lead author of the study, observed the responses in the brain using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Sleep-deprived subjects showed increased activity in the area of the brain that triggers the primitive “fight-or-flight” reflex in the face of intense emotional situations, along with decreased activity in the region responsible for logical reasoning and controlled response. Implications extend across all levels of society, with inappropriate emotional reactions being troublesome, if not dangerous, in the case of medical professionals, military personnel, parents, and others.
(October 2007)

A building with its own fan club

In anticipation of the dedication of Stanley Hall, a reporter from The Berkeleyan walked through the building to glean impressions of faculty and students now working there.
(October 2007)

Subatomic particles and giant magnets

The most recent acquisition at Stanley Hall, UC Berkeley’s new interdisciplinary bioscience and bioengineering building, is a 7-ton, 900 MHz magnet, which was added in June to the facility’s existing arsenal. The technology, known as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), allows researchers to gain a deeper understanding of different aspects of biological molecules, like how they react to drugs. Located in the basement of Stanley, the three-story NMR facility fosters the crossover of different disciplines, which is the overarching purpose of the building itself. In the case of NMR, according to the facility’s manager, Jeff Pelton, researchers are “using chemistry to understand biology.”
(October 2007)

Stanley Hall dedication heralds new era of bioscience innovation

Stanley Hall, the most recently completed building on campus, was dedicated on September 28, 2007. The state-of-the-art facility’s layout purposefully fosters interdisciplinary approaches to research among faculty and students in the departments of bioengineering, biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and computer science. Located on the campus’s northeast corner, the building brings together some of the world’s leading bioscience researchers, promising exciting opportunities to transform human health, energy and the environment.
(September 2007)

Neuroscientists connect neural activity and blood flow in new brain stimulation technique

Researchers at UC Berkeley have deciphered how transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) works to measure the electrical activity of nerve cells in the brain. TMS is a harmless, non-invasive method of measuring neural activity; however, data about the basic effects of TMS were previously scarce. Determining the workings of TMS could make the method a promising new tool in brain research and treatment of clinical disorders like depression.
(September 2007)

Young Innovator in Cancer Research Chosen for NIH Award

Michael Rape, assistant professor of molecular and cell biology at UC Berkeley, has received the National Institutes of Health New Innovator Award for his plan to identify tissue-specific cancer drugs that will inhibit the uncontrolled division of cancer cells without doing the same to other tissues in the body. The New Innovator Award is part of NIH’s Roadmap for Medical Research initiative that supports research outside of the institute’s traditional peer-review system. NIH chose Rape’s research for its “highly creative, high-risk/high-payoff” elements.
(September 2007)

NIEHS Awards $4.7 Million to Help Detect Human Exposure to Environmental Contaminants

Testing blood for cancer risks caused by environmental contaminants has historically been an expensive and cumbersome process. However, with a recent $4.7 million grant awarded to UC Berkeley researchers by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the opportunity now exists to develop methods to more quickly and inexpensively test blood for such hazards. With the award, a new Center for Exposure Biology will be established and will host three interdisciplinary projects: Protein Adductomics, Lab-on-a Chip Microsystems, and Portable Biosensors. The center will be headed by adjunct professor of environmental health sciences Stephen Rappaport.
(September 2007)

Can’t Cut This

What do diseases like malaria, AIDS, cardiovascular disease and diabetes have in common? They all involve proteases, enzymes that cut in half certain proteins in the blood. While protease inhibitor drugs have been elemental in fighting diseases such as these, finding the proteins that proteases target is extraordinarily complex. Jonathan Ellman, a professor of chemistry at UC Berkeley, has developed a more efficient way to match proteases to protein substrates, which involves attaching precursor molecules to polystyrene beads resembling sand grains. His techniques are now being used to develop therapeutics for a number of other diseases.
(September 2007)

SynBERC Scientists Honored by Technology Review

Three scientists in QB3’s Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (SynBERC) have been recognized by Technology Review magazine as among the world’s top innovators under age 35. J. Christopher Anderson, a post-doctoral bioengineering researcher at UCB, was chosen for designing tumor-killing bacteria. Kristala Jones Prather of MIT has developed reverse-engineering strategy for synthesizing commercial molecules biologically. Neil Renninger of Amyris Biotechnologies was recognized for applying synthetic-biology to the production of biofuels. Both Prather and Renninger obtained their Ph.D.s from UC Berkeley.
(September 2007)

Pines Wins Prestigious 2007 R&D 100 Award

Professor Alex Pines of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and his colleagues have been recognized by R&D Magazine as making one of the 100 most significant proven technological advances of the year. The group has developed laser-detected MRI, which eliminates the need for a high-field magnet. The magnet has previously prohibited scanning certain phenomena and objects due to their size or properties. This breakthrough technology may soon make it possible to use MRI to test a far wider range of matter, from tissue samples to petroleum reservoirs.
(September 2007)

The Beam of Light That Flips a Switch That Turns on the Brain

New advances in genetic and optical technology are allowing researchers to remotely control certain sets of cells in the brain by causing them to respond to flashes of light. This technology provides an alternative to electrode stimulation, which allows for less specificity in targeting neurons. It has the potential to be used in treatments of patients with paralysis, blindness and depression. UC Berkeley chemistry professor Ehud Isacoff has developed one of several methods of this type of brain stimulation, having engineered a high-speed switch by tethering a light-sensitive synthetic molecular string to proteins in brain cell membranes.
(August 2007)

Compound in Broccoli has Immune-Boosting Properties, Finds New Study

3,3’-diindolylmethane, or DIM, a compound found in broccoli and similar vegetables, has already been proven to stop the growth of certain cancer cells. Now a study led by Leonard Bjeldanes, UC Berkeley professor of toxicology, has found that DIM also helps to boost the immune system. The scientists found that a 10-micromolar dose of DIM doubled the number of white blood cells that help the body fight infection, and there is a 5-10 micromolar dose in a large plate of broccoli. The study also reinforces DIM’s cancer-fighting benefits. Future research will investigate the compound’s effects on pathogenic viruses and bacteria.
(August 2007)

Flies Prefer Fizzy Drinks

UC Berkeley researchers have found that fruit flies have a specialized taste for carbonated water, perhaps explaining why they are attracted to foods with growing microorganisms (rotting). The discovery was made by Kristen Scott, assistant professor of molecular and cell biology and her colleagues at the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, who found that dissolved carbon dioxide was a taste trigger preferred by the flies. While the taste modality currently appears exclusive to fruit flies, the finding could lead to the discovery of similar or other taste modalities in humans that are indicative of certain nutritional needs.
(August 2007)

$1.8 Million Gift Will Advance Health Research

Scientists at UC Berkeley may be one step closer to finding cures for some debilitating diseases thanks to a $1.8 million gift from the Gilead Foundation. Half of the Gilead gift will go toward Professors Jennifer Doudna and Carolyn Bertozzi to assist in their research on Hepatitis C and Tuberculosis respectively. The other half goes unrestricted to the Health Sciences Initiative in the hope of fostering collaborations among other health investigators and promoting the goal of overall excellence in research on diseases like cancer, MS and Alzheimer’s.
(July 2007)

Eminent Biochemist Daniel Koshland has Died

Daniel E. Koshland, Jr., a long-time professor of molecular and cell biology at UC Berkeley and former editor of the journal Science, died at age 87 of a massive stroke on July 23. Among his countless accomplishments, Koshland spearheaded the reorganization of biology at UC Berkeley in the 1980s, placing the university in a leading position in the biological sciences. He was the recipient of nearly a dozen prestigious awards, including the National Medical of Science in 1990. Koshland is remembered by colleagues for his “qualities of honesty, kindness, unselfishness, originality and wisdom.”
(July 2007)

Schaffer wins $2.1 million stem cell research grant

UC Berkeley chemical engineering professor David Schaffer has won a $2.1 million grant from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to expand the research program of the Berkeley Stem Cell Center, of which he is associate director. The center conducts laboratory research in basic cell biology, chemistry, bioengineering and chemical engineering. Schaffer also holds a faculty appointment at the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute.
(July 2007)

HIV in breast milk killed by flash-heating, new study finds

According to a new study led by researchers at UC Berkeley and UC Davis, a simple method of flash-heating breast milk infected with HIV successfully inactivated the free floating virus. The study provides hope that mothers with HIV in developing nations will soon be able to more safely feed their babies.
(21 May 2007)

New teaching, research building gets go-ahead

The University of California Board of Regents approved the construction of the Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences that will house teaching and research focused on the fundamental molecular mechanisms underlying human health and disease.
(17 May 2007)

Proteins as shape-shifters

UC Berkeley professor of chemical engineering, Jhih-Wei Chu models the behavior of proteins atom by atom. By understanding how proteins interact with other molecules, as well as larger structures in the cell, Chu is developing a new way to target medicines, design novel materials, and ultimately improve our understanding of cell behavior.
(May 2007)

The protein machine

The ribosome is about as complex as cellular machinery gets and deciphering its structure in detail has been a challenge facing scientists since its discovery in the 1950’s. Jamie Cate, UC Berkeley professor of biochemistry, molecular biology, and chemistry, is among the leaders in the current effort to map the ribosome’s structure. Cate’s work is not only unveiling new aspects of this critical cellular component, but could eventually lead to designs for an entirely new generation of antibiotics.
(April 2007)

Self-tuning genes

Rachel Brem, UC Berkeley professor of genetics and development and QB3 faculty affiliate, studies yeast genes in hopes of finding ways to easily locate and analyze potentially harmful gene variations in humans. Brem seeks to find characteristics that will make it easier to identify self-regulatory genes, and home in on the mutations most likely to cause disease.
(April 2007)

New medical technique punches holes in cells, could treat tumors

A new study led by Boris Rubinsky, UC Berkeley professor of bioengineering and mechanical engineering, may be a potential breakthrough in minimally invasive surgical treatments of tumors. The study on pigs, the first large animal trial for the irreversible electroporation (IRE) technique, has shown that certain microsecond electrical pulses can punch nanoscale holes in the membranes of target cells without harming tissue scaffolding, including that in the blood vessels. With IRE, the holes in the cell membrane do not reseal, causing the target cell to lose its ability to maintain homeostasis and die, while leaving healthy cells intact.
(12 February 2007)

Peptide targets latent papilloma virus infections

Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers in the world, second only to lung cancer. More than 90 percent of cervical cancer is caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) infections. A team of UC Berkeley researchers have successfully created a protein fragment (peptide) that prevents the virus from hitching a ride on a cell’s chromosomes as the cell divides. If the peptide works in the body, it would effectively stop the virus from spreading or progressing to cancer.
(2 January 2007)

The molecular cascade of stress

UC Berkeley biologist Daniela Kaufer investigates how the body transforms the psychological signal of stress into physiological changes to the brain. Her research demonstrates that stress affects every level of functioning, from how genes are transcribed to what proteins are translated. Kaufer hopes that further study will unlock ways of inoculating the body against the most damaging forms of stress and brain trauma.
(December 2006)

The 3D language of cells

Using T cells and a new experimental platform of half-living and half-artificial cells, UC Berkeley professor of chemistry Jay Groves studies spatial patterning, one mode of cellular communication. Combined with a compound known as NVOC and UV light, Groves has been able to successfully uncage proteins at specific focal points, leaving all other cell molecules unaffected. Groves' goal is to understand the forces of molecular organization that bring a cell to life.
(December 2006)

Jay Keasling honored as Scientist of the Year

Discover magazine has named Jay D. Keasling, professor of chemical engineering and bioengineering at UC Berkeley, its 2006 Scientist of the Year for his ambitious efforts to "rebuild life itself." Keasling has been a leader in the new and emerging field of synthetic biology which has the potential to transform the biotechnology, high-tech, pharmaceutical and chemical industries by providing less expensive and more efficient ways of constructing biological components that will allow engineers to build biological solutions to important societal problems.
(15 November 2006)

W. M. Keck Foundation funds Berkeley effort to reveal inner workings of cellular machines

Every living cell relies on the carefully orchestrated interactions of proteins to form molecular machines that mediate fundamental processes. The key to understanding how cells work – and thus, the nature of disease – lies in determining the three-dimensional configuration of the proteins involved. The new state-of-the-art laboratory at UC Berkeley funded by a $2 million grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation promises to expand the scope of protein-structure discovery and speed up the discovery of new drugs for treating disease.
(November 2006)

Novel approach to detoxifying cancer drugs

Anticancer drugs are often highly toxic when delivered straight, but "wrapping" them inside larger molecules can lessen the side effects as well as make them more effective, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and UC San Francisco (UCSF).
(7 November 2006)

Photoswitches could restore sight to blind retinas

Loss of photoreceptors – the light detectors in the retina – is the major cause of blindness in the United States. One in four people older than 65 suffers vision loss as a result of this condition. The UC Berkeley-LBNL Nanomedicine Development Center is leading efforts to equip cells of the retina with photoswitches, essentially making blind nerve cells see, and restoring light sensitivity in people with degenerative blindness such as macular degeneration.
(31 October 2006)

Stretching bone marrow stem cells pushes them towards becoming blood vessels

When stretched, a type of adult stem cell taken from bone marrow can be nudged towards becoming the type of tissue found in blood vessels, according to a new study by bioengineers from Bioengineering Professor Song Li's tissue engineering lab at UC Berkeley.
(23 October 2006)

UC Berkeley at the forefront of stem cell ethics interchange

Rarely has a medical revolution captured the hopes and horrors of so many as has stem cell research. While many college campuses reflect this ethical divide, UC Berkeley’s new Science, Technology and Society Center is bringing together scientists and humanities and social sciences scholars in a unique effort to promote both innovation and values in bioengineering.
(23 October 2006)

Amgen Foundation gives campus $1 million grant for undergrad science research program

The Amgen Foundation awarded a $1 million grant to UC Berkeley to provide undergraduate students an opportunity to engage in a fully-funded, hands-on research experience each summer. The grant is part of Amgen Scholars, a $25 million, eight-year program designed to help build the next generation of bioscience, biotechnology, and bioengineering leaders.
(19 October 2006)

Ironing out bacterial infections

UC Berkeley professor of chemistry Kenneth Raymond has been studying bacterial iron uptake for more than 30 years. From the moment bacteria invade a human cell, they launch a battle against the body to acquire iron. Though iron is the second most abundant metal on Earth, it’s in short supply inside cells. Pathogenic bacteria use iron-chelating molecules known as siderophores to take iron away from storage proteins. Raymond’s discoveries about siderophores have opened up a whole new universe of antibiotic design.
(October 2006)

UC Berkeley Biologist Randy Schekman named PNAS Editor-in-Chief

Randy Schekman, professor of cell and developmental biology at UC Berkeley, was appointed the new editor-in-chief of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the official journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Schekman succeeds former Editor-in-Chief Nicholas R. Cozzarelli, who died of Burkitt’s lymphoma in March.
(13 October 2006)

Tissue geometry plays crucial role in breast cell invasion

Mina Bissell, a distinguished scientist with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Life Sciences Division, and her collaborators have created a first-of-its-kind model for studying how breast tissue is shaped and structured during development. The model may shed new light on how the misbehavior of only a few cells can facilitate metastatic invasion because it shows that the development of breast tissue, normal or abnormal, is controlled not only by genetics but also by geometry. This model may also be applied to the study of tissue development in other organs as well.
(12 October 2006)

Researcher wins $2.5 million NIH Pioneer Award

Rebecca W. Heald, professor of molecular and cell biology at UC Berkeley, is one of the 13 researchers selected to receive the 2006 Pioneer Award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The annual award, totaling $2.5 million over five years, is designed to fund “high-risk” research with potentially high payoff for human health.
(20 September 2006)

Slow brain waves play key role in coordinating complex activity

A new study by neuroscientists at UC Berkeley, and neurosurgeons and neurologists at UC San Francisco (UCSF) begins to answer how different areas of the brain communicate with each other. By measuring electrical activity in the brains of pre-surgical epilepsy patients, researchers have found the first evidence that slow brain oscillations, or theta waves, “tune in” the fast brain oscillations called high-gamma waves that signal the transmission of information between different areas of the brain. By measuring high-gamma band activity, surgeons will be able to see in real time, during surgery, how cortical regions are connected through subcortical systems — improving surgical precision and shedding light on how these regions process information.
(14 September 2006)

Seeing two figures in coordinated action helps brain pick out movements of one

Research by vision scientists at UC Berkeley finds that the human visual system is better able to discriminate the movements of a single person when his or her actions are coordinated in a meaningful way with a second individual. This is especially important when the view is somehow obscured or impaired, according to the study, published in the September issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience.
(7 September 2006)

Architects of arterial scaffolding

Bioengineering Ph.D. student Craig Hashi and his team, led by bioengineering assistant professor Song Li, are tackling cardiovascular disease with a new combination of technologies called nanografts. According to Hashi, when inserted into the body, the nanografts essentially remodel and integrate themselves, and provide structures for the body to grow new veins. Nanografts show promise due to their customizability and that they cost a fraction of what it would take to harvest replacement veins elsewhere in the body.
(1 September 2006)

Surprise finding for stretched DNA

Biologists have long believed that as a molecule of DNA is stretched, its double helix starts to unwind. UC Berkeley professor Carlos Bustamante used a combination of microscopic beads and magnetic tweezers to observe that when a DNA molecule is stretched, it actually begins to overwind. Understanding these mechanical properties has been a scientific priority since the double-helix was first discovered, as DNA replication and the transcription of genetic information into the production of proteins depends upon the mechanical properties of the double helix.
(7 August 2006)

NSF funds $16 million synthetic biology center

The National Science Foundation awarded a $16 million dollar grant to the Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center, or SynBERC, a new research center that will focus on the emerging discipline of synthetic biology. The Center will seek to make it as quick and easy to engineer biology as it now is to assemble microprocessors, hard drives, and memory chips into a computer and will be instrumental in providing less expensive drugs and fuels, novel materials, biological sensors, and replacement organs from stem cells.
(3 August 2006)

Molecular DNA switch found to be the same for all life

Research led by Michael Botchan, Eva Nogales, and James Berger, professors of biochemistry and molecular biology, reveals that the core machinery for initiating DNA replication is the same for all three domains of life — Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya. These new findings indicate that DNA replication is an ancient event that evolved millions of years ago, prior to when Archae, Bacteria, and Eukarya split into separate domains of life and takes our understanding of the mechanics of DNA opening and replisome construction to a new level.
(17 July 2006)

At last, attention shifts to girls

A study led by UC Berkeley psychologist Stephen P. Hinshaw found that girls diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at greater risk for substance abuse, emotional problems, and academic difficulties in adolescence than their peers who don’t have the common neurobehavioral condition. The study was published in the June issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.
(11 July 2006)

Listeriosis’s path to miscarriage traced to placental infection

The illness caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes often leads to miscarriage or infection of the fetus. A new study led by postdoctoral researcher Anna Bakardjiev and biochemistry and molecular biology professor Daniel Portnoy, examines why pregnant women are 20 times more likely than others to be infected by the bacterium. The study is the first to trace the pathway of infection from the placenta, and it dashes the widely held assumption that immune-system changes during pregnancy are to blame for elevated Listeria infection rates.
(29 June 2006)

Biochemist Daniel Koshland wins Welch Award

Professor Daniel E. Koshland, an international leader in research on enzymes and receptors and former editor of the journal Science, was awarded the Welch Award in Chemistry for his life-enhancing contribution to biochemistry and medical science.
(16 May 2006)

Chemical engineer David Schaffer wins BIOT 2006 Young Investigator Award

Chemical engineering professor David Schaffer was awarded the 2006 Young Investigator Award of the American Chemical Society Division of Biochemical Technology (BIOT).
(May 2006)

Bioengineers develop smallest DNA sequencer

Bioengineering Graduate Group member and UC Berkeley Professor of Chemistry Richard Mathies and graduate student Robert Blazej have developed the smallest ever DNA sequencing device, only 10cm in diameter. The breakthrough could drop costs from $22 million to $50,000 to sequence a genome.
(9 May 2006)

Chemistry Chair Michael Marletta elected to National Academy of Sciences

Michael Marletta, Chemistry Chair and Aldo DeBenedictis Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Marletta joins four others from the UC Berkeley campus and eight from other UC campuses who were also elected on April 25, 2006.
(25 April 2006)

Cell surface profiling technique could yield cancer blood test

A chemical profiling technique with the potential for detecting the onset of cancer at the cellular level has been developed by a team of researchers led by UC Berkeley chemistry professor Carolyn Bertozzi. The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
(12 April 2006)

Milestone in quest for cheap antimalarial

Researchers are now a step closer to creating an antimlarial drug inexpensive enough for widespread use in countries where malaria is endemic. Two-and-a-half years ago, UC Berkeley chemical engineering and bioengineering professor Jay D. Keasling and his team of researchers succeeded in engineering bacteria to make a chemical precursor of artemisinin - the best drug available today to cure malaria. The team’s ultimate goal is to retool the microbe’s metabolism to perform as much of the drug synthesis as possible in order to sidestep the expensive laboratory synthesis needed to make artemisinin.
(12 April 2006)

Jasper Rine named million-dollar professor by HHMI

UC Berkeley researcher Jasper Rine, professor of molecular and cell biology, was awarded a million dollar professorship by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The four-year professorship is awarded to support innovative research scientists who want to incorporate the excitement of research into undergraduate education. Rine hopes to create a class that will introduce UC Berkeley undergraduates to the modern world of experimental biology.
(5 April 2006)

How cells move

As cells move through the body, navigating through tissue and pushing against obstacles, they change shape. Understanding the dynamics of this process could someday lead to therapies that improve immune cells or fight cancer. UC Berkeley bioengineering professor Daniel Fletcher and his students customized an atomic force microscope (AFM) to help reveal how the scaffolding that gives a cell its shape is affected by its environment.
(March 2006)

Boning up on fracture mechanics

One in two women and one in four men over 50 will have to deal with osteoporosis-related fractures, according to the National Institutes of Health. As a first step to find what can be done to toughen our bones, UC Berkeley material science professor Robert Ritchie explores the mechanisms that make them break.
(March 2006)

Brain scans predict cognitive decline in normal people, says new study

According to a study led by UC Berkeley researchers, brain scans may help detect neurological changes in people who exhibit no outward signs of cognitive decline but who later develop dementia or mental impairment. Positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could eventually be used to detect preclinical signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
(8 February 2006)

Scientists force virus to evolve as better delivery vehicle for gene therapy

UC Berkeley researcher David Schaffer, associate professor of chemical engineering and a member of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, and his colleagues have shown that viruses can be forced to evolve in ways to benefit human health. Schaffer and his team decided to speed up the process of viral evolution and direct it in a way that would allow the virus to slip past the body’s immune defenses, making it a more viable vehicle for gene therapy.
(7 February 2006)

Brain hormone puts brakes on reproduction

UC Berkeley researchers have discovered in rats, mice and hamsters a hormone called gonadotropin inhibitory hormone (GnIH) that fills the long suspected, but until now, undetected role of inhibiting mammalian reproduction. If this new discovery is reflected in humans, it would offer physicians another means of tweaking the reproductive system to fix problems ranging from infertility to precocious puberty.
(6 February 2006)

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