The San Francisco Business Times examines crucial work by Dan Fletcher, Melanie Ott and Jennifer Doudna to create an efficient, smartphone-based CRISPR-cellscope hybrid COVID-19 test.
research
Arkin lab harnesses incredible bacterial ‘Homing Missiles’
Adam Arkin’s lab is leading research to harness tailocins – protein machines made by bacteria that are able to target and attack very specific strains of bacteria. They hope to understand and use these natural spring-powered microneedles to study the microbiome, and eventually to attack and treat harmful infections.
CRISPR-Chip advance streamlines genetic testing for medical diagnostics and research
Former BioE postdoc Kiana Aran, now a professor at KGI, along with Professor Irina Conboy and other collaborators, have demonstrated new disease-detection capabilities of a hand-held device based on CRISPR gene editing technology, a development that could lead to faster, portable genetic testing for diagnostics and research.
TotalVI: A transformative algorithm
Researchers co-led by Professor Aaron Streets have invented a computer algorithm that uses deep learning to integrate gene and protein data about single cells that were gathered from different tissues and donors and were processed in different labs. Part of a global effort to build a Human Cell Atlas (HCA), the new algorithm will allow integration of data from different types of experiments to compile detailed protein information.
David Schaffer Harnesses Directed Evolution for Gene Therapy
Professor of Bioengineering and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering David Schaffer explains how he “plays Darwin” in his Berkeley lab, using high throughput genetic sequencing technology to test over a billion genetic samples for the desired biological activity.
Lareau helps detect more infectious COVID variant at Berkeley
Professor Liana Lareau has been co-leading the Innovative Genomics Institute effort to monitor mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the local community. The team’s rapid sequencing turnaround is crucial for tracking the spread of new variants, including the more infectious B.1.1.7 recently detected in two cases at Berkeley.
Using microfluidics to peer deeper into the structure of our genome
Professor Aaron Streets’ lab has developed a novel technique for unraveling and imaging lengthy strands of DNA.
Video – Dan Fletcher on new rapid COVID-19 test that uses smartphone camera
Check out this video interview with Professor Dan Fletcher on his collaboration with CRISPR researchers to produce a rapid COVID-19 test using a smartphone camera.
How water helps the substrate into the enzyme
An international research team including Professor Teresa Head-Gordon have investigated why cages can increase the catalytic activity of enclosed molecules. Using terahertz spectroscopy and complex computer simulations, they showed that water encapsulated in a tiny cage has special properties that are structurally and dynamically distinct from any known phase of water.