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Bioimaging RSS feed

SLAC has a unique set of tools for looking at viruses, microbes, cells and the tiny machines inside the cell that perform all of life’s functions. This research gives scientists a better understanding of how living things work, what makes us sick and how we can prevent and treat disease. 

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Science of life

Artist's depiction of a tiny pore in an archaea's crystalline shell

News Brief

Wheat and other sources of gluten can spell trouble for people with the disease, but new findings could aid the development of first-ever drugs...

Close up of wheat in a field.
News Feature

Researchers figured out how to spray and freeze a cell sample in its natural state in milliseconds, helping them capture basic biological processes in...

These are two images of the same cell at different times during an experiment.
News Feature

Disabling those hinges could be a good strategy for designing vaccines and treatments against a broad range of coronavirus infections.

A 3D image of a round, spiky coronavirus with inset showing how far its spikes can bend.
News Feature

Scientists developed a new method to unlock the secrets of RNA. The implications are wide-reaching, from better understanding diseases to designing new therapeutics. 

CXI hutch
News Feature

Peter Dahlberg has combined two complex imaging techniques into one. The 2021 Panofsky Fellow adds cryo-ET and biosensors to fluorescence microscopy to give context...

A green, red and blue outline encloses small yellow dots and orange circles, representing parts of a cell.
Press Release

With up to a million X-ray flashes per second, 8,000 times more than its predecessor, it transforms the ability of scientists to explore atomic-scale...

LCLS-II first light
News Feature

A molecule with hooks that can grip and disable the virus’s pesky protease shows potential for fighting infection.

This graphic illustration shows how a SARS-CoV-2 protease attaches to a new molecule. The new molecule is meant to slow the virus inside an infected person.
Press Release

Researchers used cryo-EM (left) to discover how a chamber in human cells (right) directs protein folding. 

A pom-pom like object with curly tangles in purple and blue shades and yellow tangles at center, reminiscent of a zinnia blossom.
Press Release

Powerful X-rays from SLAC’s synchrotron reveal that our immune system’s primary wiring seems to be no match for a brutal SARS-CoV-2 protein.

SARS-CoV-2-NEMO
Illustration

This image shows the SARS-CoV-2 virus's main protease, Mpro, and two strands of a human protein, called NEMO.

SARS-CoV-2-NEMO
News Feature

After almost two decades of synchrotron experiments, Caltech scientists have captured a clear picture of a cell’s nuclear pores, which are the doors and...

The nuclear pore and its components.
News Feature

Researchers discover that a spot of molecular glue and a timely twist help a bacterial enzyme convert carbon dioxide into carbon compounds 20 times...

An illustration shows the pocket in an enzyme called ECR where the carbon fixing reaction takes place.