Antigens can sometimes be attached to a protein scaffold to mimic the shape of a virus and elicit a stronger immune response. Scientists developed a method to design such proteins, and ALS data helped to visualize the atomic structure and determine the dynamics of the designed scaffolds. Read more »
How Proteins Remodel DNA in Bacteria under Stress
Multiscale, multimodal visualization techniques at the ALS enabled researchers to clarify how proteins remodel bacterial DNA in response to stressful environments. The discovery could lead to new strategies for controlling microbial behavior and, eventually, new ways to fight bacterial infections. Read more »
Toughening Mechanisms in Carp Scales at the Nanoscale
Scientists have characterized carp scales down to the nanoscale, using the ALS to watch how the fibers in the scales react as stress is applied. The resulting insights provide inspiration for the design of advanced synthetic structural materials with unprecedented toughness and penetration resistance. Read more »
Study Gains New Insight Into Bacterial DNA Packing
When bacteria are put in different environments, their genes start to adapt remarkably quickly because the proteins making up their chromosomes can pack and unpack rapidly. Researchers have now imaged this process at the molecular level, a discovery that could eventually enable scientists to develop strategies to control microbial behavior. Read more »
This Enigmatic Protein Sculpts DNA to Repair Harmful Damage
Scientists have discovered that a DNA-repairing protein performs its functions by first marking and then further breaking damaged DNA. The surprising findings have provided much-needed insight into how DNA repair works in healthy human cells, as well as how different mutations can translate into different diseases and cancer. Read more »
Off the Scales: Fish Armor Both Tough and Flexible
Humans have drawn technological inspiration from fish scales going back to ancient times: Romans, Egyptians, and other civilizations would dress their warriors in scale armor, providing both protection and mobility. Now, scientists have characterized carp scales down to the nanoscale, enabling them to understand how the material is resistant to penetration while retaining flexibility. Read more »
Assembly Lines for Designer Bioactive Compounds
Researchers successfully bioengineered changes to a molecular “assembly line” for bioactive compounds, based in part on insights gained from small-angle x-ray scattering at the ALS. The ability to re-engineer these assembly lines could improve their performance and facilitate the synthesis of new medically useful compounds. Read more »
Survival of T. rex Microvascular Structures from Deep Time
Researchers used several analytical techniques at the ALS to demonstrate how soft-tissue structures may be preserved in dinosaur bones, countering long-standing scientific dogma that protein-based body parts cannot survive more than one million years. Read more »
Highly Permeable Perfluorinated Sulfonic Acid Ionomers for Improved Electrochemical Devices: Insights into Structure-Property Relationships
Perfluorinated sulfonic acid ionomers (PFSAs) induce significant mass-transport limitations in proton exchange membrane fuel cell catalyst layers due to their semicrystalline PTFE-based matrix. We present a novel PFSA with an amorphous perfluorinated matrix, which vastly improves gas permeability, reduces transport resistance, and improves catalyst utilization in functional catalyst layers. Read more »
Berkeley Lab Helps Reveal How Dinosaur Blood Vessels Can Preserve Through the Ages
A team of scientists used infrared and x-ray imaging performed at the Advanced Light Source to determine the chemical mechanisms that allow soft tissue structures to persist in dinosaur bones—countering the long-standing scientific dogma that protein-based body parts can’t survive more than 1 million years. Read more »