Science News

• Huntington's disease: Hot on the trail of misfolded proteins' toxic modus operandi
  A Stanford University researcher describes the link between a misfolded protein and Huntington's disease. 
   
• Clever Sequencing Improves CRISPR Reporting
  Stanford University, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University researchers have shown a that long read lengths by a single molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing can provide a platform for measuring genome editing outcomes at any site of interest. This method of targeted genome editing with engineered enzymes allows for the introduction of precise sequence modifications at almost any site in the genome.
   
• Within sight: Light-activated drugs for restoring vision
  Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have developed a set of light-sensitive compounds called photoswitches that could be used to bypass damaged photoreceptors and restore vision to blind or visually impaired people. 

​2013

• Third Pillar of Medicine: Cell Therapy
  University of California San Francisco researchers discuss the prospect of the usage of cell therapy being as common as treating the sick with drugs. 
   
• Engineered Virus Capable of Improving Sight
  Researchers at the University of California Berkeley have created a virus and a non-invasive method to deliver genes to a difficult-to-reach population of cells of the eye to help restore sight. 
   

• An OFF switch for pain
  Chemists at LMU Munich, in collaboration with colleagues in Berkeley and Bordeaux, have now shown in laboratory experiments that it is possible to inhibit the activity of pain-sensitive neurons using an agent that acts as a photosensitive switch.
   
• Correct Protein Folding
  Berkeley Lab Researchers Identify Structure of Key Control Element Behind Protein Misfolding That Can Lead to Disease
   
• "Pause switch" making immune therapies easier to control
  UCSF researchers have discussed the prospect of introducing a naturally occurring protein in bacteria into immune therapies to make them easier to regulate and less likely to cause side effects. 
   
• Three Seeing Mice
  A team of researchers from UC Berkeley in collaboration with University of Munich and University of Washington researchers have discovered a chemical, AAQ, that temporarily restores some vision to blind mice. 
   

• Nanoscale Imaging of Protein Aggregates in Huntington’s Disease
  Using super-resolution (SR) fluorescence imaging, scientists at Stanford University distinguished single molecules of Huntingtin (Htt) protein with nanometer precision within protein aggregates.


• Nanoparticles deliver combination cargos directly to cancer targets
  In a study published online in the journal Nature Materials in April, investigators constructed synthetic “protocells” that were used to kill liver tumor cells without adversely affecting healthy cells.
   

• Neurons Filter Out Irrelevant Information
  Scientists have discovered how a small subset of neurons in the zebrafish brain has a big impact on an important behavior—the ability to hunt down prey.
   

• With A Flash Of Light, A Neuron's Function Is Revealed  
  September 16, 2009
  There’s a new way to explore biology’s secrets. With a flash of light, scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley zeroed in on the type of neural cell that controls swimming in larval zebrafish.