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Biological sciences RSS feed

Tiny microbes and molecular machines have an outsized impact on human health, and they play key roles in the vast global cycles that shape climate and make carbon and nitrogen available to all living things. 

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Science of life

This illustration shows arrestin, an important type of signaling protein

Press Release

After decades of effort, scientists have finally seen the process by which nature creates the oxygen we breathe using SLAC’s X-ray laser.

Photosystem II
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.
News Brief

His work has led to new treatments for advanced lung cancer and a better understanding of dangerous parasites.

Blaine Mooers
News Brief

The protein could play a key role in soil carbon cycling and soil decomposition.

A three-dimensional structure of the soil virus AMG product, an enzyme known as a chitosanase.
News Brief

Fan’s X-ray crystallography work at SLAC’s synchrotron moves us closer to a more protective coronavirus vaccine and a better understanding of how vital materials...

Fan wins this year's Klein award from SSRL.
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
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

By revealing the chemistry of plant secretions, or exudates, these studies build a basis for better understanding and conserving art and tools made with...

Plant secretion from what is called "grass tree."
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.
News Brief

Sandwiching wiggly proteins between two other layers allows scientists to get the most detailed images yet of a protein that’s key to the spread...

Red molecules are sandwiched between a blue inner shell and purple outer shell.
News Brief

Recently developed methods now in use at SLAC’s X-ray synchrotron helped a team of chemists better understand how certain bacteria turn light into chemical...

A diagram of a protein molecule with white spirals and multicolored webs indicating key parts of the molecule.
News Feature

A better understanding of this process could inform the next generation of artificial photosynthetic systems that produce clean and renewable energy.

water droplets on plant