Scientists Discover Next-Generation System for Programmable Genome Design

MoA animation by Visual Science, 2024

A team of researchers led by Professor Patrick Hsu has discovered the first DNA recombinase that is programmable, allowing the user to specify any desired genomic target sequence and any donor DNA molecule to be inserted. The bridge recombinase mechanism promises to expand genome editing beyond CRISPR and RNA interference (RNAi) to offer a unified mechanism for programmable DNA rearrangements. Bioengineering graduate student Nicholas Perry is also a lead author of the study, along with other researchers from the Arc Institute.

Read More

So to speak: how bats and humans communicate

flying bat Photo by Yuval Barkai @bats.tlv

Berkeley researchers led by Professor Michael Yartsev, working with scientists at Carnegie Mellon University, have identified the part of the brain in Egyptian fruit bats that controls vocalizations and found that it contains similar neural wiring and genetics to the part of the human brain that controls speech.

Read More

Putting on the heat

computer graphic showing towers of red and blue DNA and flames

Professor Seung-Wuk Lee discusses pyroelectricity: the finding that viruses can generate electricity when exposed to heat, and how this may pave the way for next-generation biosensors and diagnostic tools.

Read More

Cool it down

Tony Consiglio, Alan Maida and Boris Rubinsky in their Etcheverry Hall lab. (Photo by Adam Lau/Berkeley Engineering)

How isochoric preservation can protect food, organs — and even the planet. Professor Boris Rubinsky discusses the state of the art in cryogenics and preservation.

Read More

Viral Pyroelectricity with Seung-Wuk Lee

computer graphic showing towers of red and blue DNA and flames

Professor Seung-Wuk Lee discusses pyroelectricity: the finding that viruses can generate electricity when exposed to heat, and how this may pave the way for next-generation biosensors and diagnostic tools.

Read More

What bats can teach us about the evolution of human speech

image of small fruit bat hanging upside down in the lab

In a paper in the journal Science, a team led by Professor Michael Yartsev’s lab identified the part of the brain in Egyptian fruit bats that controls vocalizations and found that it contains very similar neural wiring to the part of the human brain that controls speech.

Read More