New research from Michael Yartsev’s lab shows that the ability to focus on the location where we will be in the near future may be a key characteristic of the mammalian brain’s built-in navigation system. Lab members wirelessly tracked the brain activity of Egyptian fruit bats as they flew throughout a custom flight room. The study, which opens many questions about how we process our movement in time and space, appeared online Thursday, July 8, in the journal Science.
research
Conboy lab continues to make strides against aging
Professor Irina Conboy’s lab is a world leader in research to slow and reverse the effects of physical aging. Recently, Conboy was interviewed in a LongevityTechnology story, “Can CRISPR be used to diagnose aging?” And her work on the controversial issue of using young blood to rejuvenate was featured in the article “Young blood to […]
Clark lab’s technique IDs new therapeutic targets for inflammatory autoimmunity
Cell interactions contribute to central nervous system pathology, but techniques to define these interactions are limited. In a publication in Science, Professor Iain Clark’s lab describes a new method that determines the molecular phenotypes and connections between cells in vivo. This technique allows them to identify new therapeutic targets that disrupt inflammatory crosstalk in experimental autoimmunity, and potentially, in neurologic disorders like Multiple Sclerosis.
How Covid has changed the future of health tests
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.
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.