Researchers determined the structure of a human antibody that broadly protects against a bacterium that causes meningitis and sepsis. The work provides molecular-level information about how the antibody confers broad immunity against a variable target and suggests strategies for further improvement of available vaccines. Read more »
ALSNews Vol. 399
October 31, 2018
Expanding the Infrared Nanospectroscopy Window
An innovative infrared-light probe with nanoscale spatial resolution has been expanded to cover previously inaccessible far-infrared wavelengths. The ability to investigate heterogeneous materials at nanometer scales and far-infrared energies will benefit a wide range of fields, from condensed matter physics to biology. Read more »
Unwinding a Quadruple Helix
The double helix is not the only structure formed by DNA and RNA. Guanine-rich DNA and RNA sequences can fold into quadruple-helix structures called G-quadruplexes. Recently, researchers visualized the unfolding of a G-quadruplex by a protein called DHX36, gaining valuable insight into a potential target for drug development. Read more »
Antibody Therapy for Autoimmune Diseases
The balance between two types of white blood cells is disrupted in autoimmune diseases. Using protein crystallography, scientists have identified a human antibody that locks interleukin-2, a signaling protein, in a conformation that preferentially activates one cell type to restore the balance and treat autoimmune diseases. Read more »
2018 ALS User Meeting Highlights
Past, present, and future converged at the 2018 ALS User Meeting, where attendees celebrated the 25th anniversary of first light and CD-1 approval of the ALS Upgrade project. Planned with the next generation of users in mind, this year’s meeting emphasized tutorials on a wide variety of ALS techniques for both new and seasoned users. Read more »
Celebrating “A New Light for Berkeley Lab”
At the end of September 2018, nearly 250 staff and affiliates from across Berkeley Lab gathered to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the ALS and the recent achievement of CD-1 for the ALS Upgrade (ALS-U) project, as well as learn more about the future science that will be enabled by ALS-U. Read more »
COSMIC Ptychography Team Receives 2018 Klaus Halbach Award
The 2018 Klaus Halbach Award for Innovative Instrumentation at the ALS was presented at the annual User Meeting to the COSMIC ptychography team “for the development of the microscopy endstation at the COSMIC beamline, featuring an ultra-stable x-ray microscope, computational methods for data reconstruction, and a high-speed data acquisition system.” Read more »
Bob Gassaway Receives 2018 Tim Renner User Services Award
Bob Gassaway was awarded the 2018 Tim Renner User Services Award for his longstanding commitment to simultaneously supporting the ALS user community and advancing electrical safety at the ALS. Gassaway is an electronics engineering technologist who has been at Berkeley Lab for 30 years. Read more »
Noah Schwartz, User Office Supervisor
Noah Schwartz has worked at Berkeley Lab for 13 years, joining the ALS as User Services Office Supervisor in August. He jumped right in to help plan the User Meeting in October and will continue to work to improve the overall user experience. Read more »
UEC Update from the 2018 User Meeting
Contact: Will Chueh, UEC Chair One of the main goals of the Users’ Executive Committee (UEC) this year was to act on the feedback received from participants in last year’s User Meeting. This year’s meeting chairs, Jennifer Ciezak-Jenkins, Alex Frañó, and Michael Jacobs, and the rest of the UEC worked hard to enhance the annualRead More Read more »