Biochemistry

Court denies UC appeal, allowing issue of key CRISPR patents

September 10, 2018

DNA strandThe Court of Appeals today concluded that the use of CRISPR-Cas9 in plant and animal cells is separately patentable from Drs. Doudna and Charpentier's invention of the use of CRISPR-Cas9 in any environment. We are evaluating further litigation options. We also look forward to proving that Drs. Doudna and Charpentier first invented usage in plant and animal cells – a fact that is already widely recognized by the global scientific community – as the Doudna-Charpentier team's several pending patent applications that cover use of CRISPR-Cas9 in plant and animal cells are now under examination by the patent office.

New DNA Synthesis Method Could Soon Build a Genome in a Day

July 10, 2018

DNA strandA new method from the lab of Jay Keasling promises to revolutionize DNA synthesis with a faster, cheaper, and more accurate approach. Taking inspiration from nature, the team at UC Berkeley cracked a decades-old puzzle that allowed them...

Preeminent toxicologist and pesticide expert John Casida dies at 88

July 3, 2018


John CasidaJohn Casida, one of the world's leading authorities on how pesticides work and how they can potentially harm humans. Casida was the founding director of the campus's Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology Laboratory.

Copper regulates sleep in zebrafish

June 9, 2018


New research on copper could lead to better understanding of role in sleep.New research on copper could lead to better understanding of role in sleep.

Faster, Cheaper, Better: A New Way to Synthesize DNA

June 18, 2018


 Marilyn Chung/Berkeley Lab)Breakthrough discovery at the Joint BioEnergy Institute could greatly accelerate the pace of science.

Sewage sludge leads to biofuels breakthrough

March 26, 2018

Jewel Lake, Tilden Park Berkeley. Photo ChickMarkley.JBEI enzyme discovery enables first-time microbial production of an aromatic biofuel.

The study was led by Harry Beller, Berkeley Lab senior scientist and scientific...

CRISPR scissors, Cas12a, enables cutting-edge diagnostics

February 15, 2018

CRISPR-Cas12a TestingCRISPR-Cas12a, one of the DNA-cutting proteins revolutionizing biology today, has an unexpected side effect that makes it an ideal enzyme for simple, rapid and accurate disease diagnostics.

Berkeley News: ...

Super-resolution microscopy reveals fine detail of cellular mesh

January 30, 2018

Ke Xu. Photo by KaltschmidtIn the current issue of the journal Cell Reports, Ke Xu and his colleagues at UC Berkeley use the technique to provide a sharp view of the geodesic mesh that supports the outer membrane of a red blood cell, revealing why such cells are sturdy yet flexible enough to squeeze through narrow capillaries as they carry oxygen to our tissues.