Biochemistry

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...

Guggenheim Fellowship awarded to Christopher Chang

April 10, 2021
UC Berkeley, College of Chemistry Press Release

Chris Chang

The College of Chemistry is pleased to announce that Christopher Chang, Class of 1942 Chair Professor of Chemistry at UC Berkeley, is among this year’s 184 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellows. The prestigious award recognizes scholars with impressive achievements in fields ranging from the...

CRISPR and the Code Breaker

March 8, 2021
CBS Sunday Morning news

Visionary biochemist Jennifer Doudna shared the Nobel Prize last year for the gene-editing technology known as CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats), which has the potential to cure diseases caused by genetic mutations. Correspondent David Pogue talks with Doudna about the promises and perils of CRISPR; and with Walter Isaacson, author of the new book "The Code Breaker," about why the biotech revolution will dwarf the digital revolution in importance.

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This is the year that CRISPR moves from lab to clinic

March 8, 2021
Jennifer Doudna | Wired Magazine

Women makes COVID discovery in lab

Scientist makes COVID discovery in lab. (Photo Adobe Stock)

Since my colleagues and I first described CRISPR as a genome-engineering tool in 2012, the technique has transformed fundamental research. More than 15,000 papers containing the term have been published, hundreds of different organisms have been edited and this...

Alumna tackles tuberculosis with new portable diagnostic tool

February 1, 2021
by Caitlin McDermott-Murphy | Harvard Gazette

Mirelle Kamariza

Tuberculosis is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a bacteria with a cell wall thick enough to block out most drugs. Mireille Kamariza designed a molecule that embeds into that wall and lights up — researchers only need a microscope and a reagent to see it. Photo by Fred Tomlin.

Growing up in Bujumbura, Burundi, Mireille Kamariza (M.S. '15,...

The race to repurpose nature’s protein factories

February 8, 2021
Celia Henry Arnaud | C&EN

illustration of ribosomes

The molecular machines that cells use to build proteins are backed by a billion years of evolution. In that time, these machines—ribosomes—have become exceptionally good at forging amide bonds between standard α-amino acids to make peptides and proteins.

Ribosomes are so good at their job that researchers want to harness them to make other polymers...

How scientists shot down cancer’s ‘Death Star’

February 5, 2021
Gina Kolata | New York Times

lung cancer cell

A colored scanning electron micrograph of a cell of a common type of lung cancer, called non-small cell cancer. A new drug targets the mutated protein that leads to uncontrolled growth. Credit Steve Gschmeissner/Science Source

After 40 years of effort, researchers have finally succeeded in switching off...