By Date

Alice Tang named to 30 Under 30

Department of Bioengineering - Thu, 12/04/2025 - 11:50
Congratulations to bioengineering MD/PhD candidate Alice Tang, named to the 2026 Forbes 30 Under 30! Tang has pioneered methods to analyze millions of health records using AI, uncovering revelations about complex diseases like Alzheimer’s. 
Categories: Science News

All life copies DNA unambiguously into proteins. Archaea may be the exception.

Department of Molecular and Cell Biology - Mon, 12/01/2025 - 15:38

Methane-producing archaea from the species Methanosarcina acetivorans. The microbes are stained with a fluorescent dye that specifically binds to the membranes of archaea. Alienor Baskevitch/UC BerkeleyLearn about research from the lab of Assistant Professor of Genetics, Genomics, Evolution, and Development Dipti Nayak.

Excerpt from UC Berkeley News: "A study finds that one microbe, a member of the Archaea, tolerates a little flexibility in interpreting the genetic code, contradicting a 60-year-old doctrine." Read the full Berkeley News article here

UC Berkeley dean’s research inspires emerging treatment for rare bone disease

Department of Molecular and Cell Biology - Wed, 11/26/2025 - 11:40

 Brunet, McMahon, McMahon, and Harland / Science)Learn about research from the lab of Dean of Biological Sciences, Professor of Genetics, Genomics, Evolution, and Development Richard Harland

The Fall 2025 Transcript newsletter is here!

Department of Molecular and Cell Biology - Fri, 11/21/2025 - 14:57

Galaxea fascicularis coral (Cleves Lab)Learn about MCB's exciting research, new faculty, molecular medicine lab, department-wide retreat, alumni and more! 

Read the Fall 2025 MCB Transcript.

Did the first animal look like a sponge or a comb jelly? The debate continues.

Department of Molecular and Cell Biology - Fri, 11/21/2025 - 08:36

Sponges on the left; comb jellies, or ctenophores, on the right. Which organism is at the root of the animal tree of life has been a much-debated question for decades. KevinPanizza & LPETTET/iStockLearn about new research from the lab of Professor of Genetics, Genomics, Evolution, and Development Nicole King.

Nature provides the answers

Department of Bioengineering - Tue, 11/18/2025 - 13:20
An in-depth look at research by Professor Phil Messersmith, who draws on biology to develop cutting-edge materials for medicine. His lab creates adhesives and therapies designed to work with the human body, offering new ways to repair tissues, heal wounds and treat disease.
Categories: Science News

Researchers pioneer greener way to extract rare earth elements

Department of Bioengineering - Tue, 11/18/2025 - 13:12
Professor Seung-Wuk Lee has pioneered a biomining technique that could be a clean and more sustainable way to mine the rare earth elements essential to modern technology. His lab genetically engineered a harmless virus to act like a “smart sponge” that grabs rare earth metals from water, and, with a gentle change in temperature and…
Categories: Science News

Four BioE Faculty Named 2025 Highly Cited Researchers

Department of Bioengineering - Mon, 11/17/2025 - 17:57
Professors Paul Adams, Adam Arkin, Patrick Hsu, and Jay Keasling have been recognized in the “2025 Highly Cited Researchers” list, meaning their work ranks in the top 1% of citations for their field and publication year in Clarivate’s Web of Science citation index
Categories: Science News

Even moderate heat waves depress sea urchin reproduction aling the Pacific coast

Department of Integrative Biology - Fri, 11/14/2025 - 15:14
 Ron McPeak, courtesy of the Santa Barbara Coastal Long Term Ecological Research Program

Biologists believed that urchin reproduction along the Pacific Coast would only be affected by marine heat waves at lethal ocean temperatures, a new study conducted by IB Assistant Professor Daniel Okamoto and other marine biologists at UC Berkeley suggests that this threshold of susceptibility, for urchins and other marine species, may be at lower temperatures than previously thought. Read the full article here.

Categories: Science News

Origin of Life - Nov 18

Department of Integrative Biology - Fri, 11/14/2025 - 14:53
Pictured is a microscopic level image of microorganisms.

The origins of ever-evolving life are never sufficiently explained; innovations in the complex origins of life are continually being expanded into new horizons. Join Wonderfest’s guest speaker, Distinguished IB Professor and Director of the University of California Museum of Paleontology, Dr. Charles Marshall, on November 18, 2025, as he explores the integral role of energy and information in the past, present, and future of life on Earth. Read the full article here.

Categories: Science News

Miller awarded Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Supplemental Grant

Department of Molecular and Cell Biology - Wed, 11/05/2025 - 16:33

Evan MillerAssociate Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology Evan Miller was selected as one of 16 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Supplemental Grant recipients for 2025. This award, from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, provides funds to support Miller's research project "A Generalizable Method to Improve the Brightness of Long-Wavelength Fluorophores". Read more about the award and 2025 recipients here

Heart-on-a-chip may lead to new treatments for heart failure

Department of Bioengineering - Mon, 11/03/2025 - 12:52
A team led by Professors Kevin Healy and Niren Murthy have developed a microfluidic heart-on-a-chip, with which they were able to discover a lipid nanoparticle that could penetrate the dense heart muscle and efficiently deliver its cargo of therapeutic mRNA into heart muscle cells. This new drug delivery method and testing platform may pave the way to new cardiac treatments.
Categories: Science News

Taner Sen and Colleagues Sequence Complex Oat Pangenome

Department of Bioengineering - Thu, 10/30/2025 - 20:31
Adjunct Professor Taner Sen and his colleagues at the USDA and beyond have assembled and annotated the genomes of 33 wild and domesticated oat lines, along with an atlas of gene expression across in 23 of these lines, which will enable future efforts to even more hardy and productive strains of the popular grain.
Categories: Science News