Lab-made proteins mimic cellular gatekeepers
The walls of our cells are pockmarked with special “transmembrane” proteins that, like bouncers at a bar, are designed to let good molecules in and keep bad ones out. These proteins act like channels, connecting the inside of the cell to its surroundings and helping it maintain healthy pH and nutrient levels.
In a study published this week in the journal Nature, professor Ting Xu and collaborators describe the first lab-made versions of gatekeeper proteins that filter good from bad just as well as the real thing—and which could be used to enhance the function of synthetic membranes used in water desalination, energy storage or biofuels research. Read more on Berkeley News. >
UC rings out 2019 with its 20th CRISPR patent
The federal government has given the University of California a New Year’s Eve gift—its 20th U.S. patent on CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technologies. The addition expands a broad patent portfolio that is already being used to improve human and animal health and crop breeding. The new patent is the 18th involving CRISPR-Cas9 technology received this year by the UC and its collaborators — the University of Vienna and Emmanuelle Charpentier, who co-invented the technology with QB3-Berkeley faculty affiliate Jennifer Doudna, professor of molecular and cell biology and chemistry. Read more about new patent on Berkeley News. >
Genomic gymnastics help sorghum plant survive drought
A new study published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides the first detailed look at how the plant exercises exquisite control over its genome—switching some genes on and some genes off at the first sign of water scarcity, and again when water returns—to survive when its surroundings turn harsh and arid. The team of researchers who published the study includes QB3-Berkeley faculty affiliate John Taylor. Read more on Berkeley News. >
New center illuminates ‘microscopic universe within each cell’
In a video posted online this week, Seeker, a San Francisco-based digital media network focused on science and technology, profiled UC Berkeley’s newest cutting-edge facility, the Advanced Bioimaging Center. Run by Srigokul “Gokul” Upadhyayula, a newly arrived assistant professor-in-residence of molecular and cell biology, the center is building imaging systems that will provide real-time video of living cells for biologists who want to understand “how life works,” Upadhyayula told Seeker. Upadhyayula and the center’s co-founders—who include QB3-Berkeley faculty affiliates Xavier Darzacq, Doug Koshland, and Robert Tjian—hope it will become a premier visualization, data processing and analysis powerhouse with a worldwide user base and a model for other universities. Read more on Berkeley News >
QB3-Berkeley Undergraduate Biotech Internship applications now open
Applications are now open for summer 2020 QB3-Berkeley Undergraduate Biotech Internships, a program that offers students full-time, paid research experience at Bay Area biotech companies. Interns have previously worked at companies and organizations that include CZ Biohub, Carmot Therapeutics, Plexxikon, and more. The program is open Berkeley sophomores and juniors with minimum 3.2 GPA and previous lab experience. Applications are due online by January 31st 2020. More >
