Biochemistry

"Self-destructing plastic" wins top Prize in Create the Future contest

October 7, 2021
SAE Media Group | Press Release

Example of film

Over 300 million tons of plastic are produced annually – equivalent to the entire weight of the human population. Less than 10% is recycled; most end up in landfills. A research team in the lab of Professor Ting Xu, Professor of Materials Science & Engineering and...

An expert on 'undruggable' targets tackles the coronavirus

October 5, 2020
Becky Bish | The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research

Dan Nomura

Nomura in his lab at UC Berkeley. Photo: Elena Zhukova

Throughout the grim reality of a global pandemic that has disrupted normal life for months, one persistent bright spot has been the robust response of the biomedical research community. The battle to develop vaccines and drugs to fight the SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19, the disease which it causes,...

Dual-drug therapy shows promise for treating alcohol use disorder

August 3, 2021
By Robin Marks | UCSF

pouring liquor

(Photo: courtesy of UCSF)

UC San Francisco researchers have leveraged two new molecules, one of which is currently in clinical oncology trials, to devise a dual-drug therapy for alcohol use disorder (AUD), without the side effects or complications associated with current treatment regimens. The approach had highly successful results in mice and may be...

Using light-initiated radical reaction to break the carbon-heteroatom bond

August 26, 2021
Kira Welter | Chemistry World

Man with blue light

Image courtesy of Chemistry World.

A reaction that kicks out a single nitrogen, oxygen or sulfur atom from six-membered rings using only blue light has been developed by US scientists.

The method involves breaking the C–N, C–O or C–S bond in saturated heterocycles and reclosing the ring to create smaller cyclic structures. "This avoids having to...

Chris Chang discusses molecular iron electrocatalyst for the reduction of carbon dioxide

August 26, 2021
Berkeley Lab

Invention Interview with Chris Chang: Molecular Iron Electrocatalyst for the Reduction of Carbon Dioxide (2021)

Liquid Sunlight: The Evolution of Photosynthetic Biohybrids

August 23, 2021
Peidong Yang | College of Chemistry

Energy innovation utilizing carbon dioxide, air, and water

This is an excerpt of an article in Nano Letters by Peidong Yang, S.K. and Angela Chan Distinguished Professor of...

A mouth full of microbes: UC Berkeley researchers discover compound that can cause tooth decay

August 3, 2021
By Di Gu | Berkeley QB3

Xray photo of tooth decay

UC Berkeley researchers have discovered a compound that promotes bacterial adhesion on teeth, which can lead to dental plaque and cavities. Photo courtesy of Jonathan Borba (Unsplash)

Oral...

Newly-discovered 'Borg' DNA Is unlike anything scientists have ever seen

July 15, 2021
Becky Ferreira | Vice.com

DNA strand

Image: KTSDESIGN/ Science Photot Library via Getty Images. Photo courtesy vice.com.

"Borgs" are extrachromosomal elements, meaning that these DNA sequences are found outside the chromosomes that lie within the nucleus of most cells and that contain the majority of an organism’s genetic material. Examples of extrachromosomal elements include plasmids, which can...

Cannabinoids are the next big thing in the pot industry

July 5, 2021
Emma Betuel | Observer.com

marijuana leaf

It’s 2021 and regular THC isn’t going to cut it for the budding weed industry. Neither will CBD. Instead, a host of startups are betting that weed consumers will be clamoring for something that nature alone can’t provide.

In Berkeley, California, the startup Demetrix, is preparing to manufacture “metric tons” of...

A protein voyage into cells enabled by a short helical protein

April 16, 2021
By Xizi (Kelsey) Zhang | QB3

Three common pathways of endocytosis in a cell to internalize outside substances.

Three common pathways of endocytosis in a cell to internalize outside substances. Figure credit: scientificanimations.com, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The...