Biosciences Division News Releases

	Key staph enzyme decoded at the Advanced Photon Source March 24, 2011 — The battle against deadly staph infections is closer to victory as Illinois researchers have uncovered secrets of how the bacterium protects itself from human immune attacks, which could lead to more effective anti-staph therapies. Read more.

	Scientists use light to join nanoparticles into new materials March 16, 2011 — For many years, scientists have searched for ways to assemble nanoparticles into larger structures of any desired shape and form at will. This effect has been achieved in a new study by using a laser as if it were a magic wand, creating an assembled, continuous filament as the laser beam is moved around. Read more.

	Soil Science Society honors Jastrow October 20, 2010 — Senior Scientist Julie Jastrow will deliver the Francis E. Clark Distinguished Lecture on Frontiers in Soil Biology at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Soil Science Society of America, the highest honor given by the society in recognition of work in soil biology and biochemistry. Read more.

	Argonne receives $31 million for pathogen protein studies September 30, 2010 — The U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory will continue to feed the national research community a steady diet of new protein structures, thanks to a $31 million grant over five years from the newest phase of the National Institutes of Health’s Protein Structure Initiative, PSI:Biology. Full article \| Protein Structure Initiative Website.

	APS helps answer key questions about common cold virus September 1, 2010 — In a world where doctors can treat the most devastating illnesses, the common cold remains elusive. That's because up until recently, scientists knew little about the viruses that spread this seasonal nuisance. Read more.

	Exploring the role of gut bacteria in digestion August 19, 2010 — Though we are born without them, bacteria inhabit our body within seconds of our birth. They live in our mouths, around our eyes, in our digestive systems. The three or so pounds of bacteria living in our gut—mostly in the large intestine—help us digest all manner of food. It's these tiny stowaways that interest Andrzej Joachimiak and his team the most, in part because they can have a tremendous impact on human health. Read more.

	Hard X-ray Mini Beam Quad Collimator System August 9, 2010 — Several researchers from the Biosciences Division contributed to the development of the Hard X-ray Mini Beam Quad Collimator System, which automates the process of switching between various micron-size x-ray beams. Full article \| 2010 R&D 100 Winners.

	Structural biology: Crystal-clear images June 9, 2010 — A Nature magazine feature story on structural biology includes a section focusing on Argonne's Advanced Photon Source and the work being done by Robert Fischetti and his colleagues. Read more.

	Argonne scientists seek natural remediation for uranium-rich sites March 18, 2010 — While most of us are focused on life above ground, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory are trying to understand the drama unfolding beneath our feet. Read more.

	One Thousand Protein ARGONNE, Ill. (July 29th, 2009) —Argonne's Midwest Center for Structural Genomics determines 1,000th protein structure. Read more.

	Anthrax Exposed ARGONNE, Ill. (July 29th, 2009) — Researchers image crucial anthrax protein. Read more.

	Research could lead to more comprehensive flu vaccines ARGONNE, Ill. (March 27, 2009) — New findings from research performed on the influenza virus using X-rays generated by the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory may help pave the way for the development of a new, more effective vaccine that could combat a wide range of strains of the common and frequently deadly illness. Read more.

	NIH awards Argonne $800,000 to develop tool to measure distances within proteins ARGONNE, Ill. (Sept. 3, 2008) — Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have won an $800,000 EUREKA award from the National Institutes of Health to develop MADMAX, a precise molecular ruler for measuring distances within a protein. Read more.

	Argonne, University of Chicago researchers pursue grasses as Earth-friendly biofuel ARGONNE, Ill. (July 18, 2008)—At a small site on the Batavia campus of Fermilab, ecologist Julie Jastrow of Argonne National Laboratory pushes the scientific frontier in a new and exciting way: She watches the grass grow. Read more.

	Newly described 'dragon' protein could be key to bird flu cure ARGONNE, Ill. (July 15, 2008)—Scientists and researchers have taken a big step closer to a cure for the most common strain of avian influenza, or "bird flu," the potential pandemic that has claimed more than 200 lives and infected nearly 400 people in 14 countries since it was identified in 2003. Read more.

	A Fruit-Fly Protein that Captures Tumor Growth Factors Argos is a fruit fly protein that acts as a “decoy” receptor, binding growth factors that promote the progression of cancer. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (UPSM), using x-ray beamlines at two U.S. Department of Energy synchrotron light sources, have shown how Argos achieves this feat. Read More.

	Scientists characterize protein structure of environmentally friendly bacteria ARGONNE, Ill. (May 19, 2008) – Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have determined the structure of a key protein domain in a bacterium that could help with bioremediation of uranium-contaminated land sites. Read more.

	Striking Nano Gold A team of researchers led by Roger Kornberg have acquired new information that will accelerate the development of practical applications for monolayer-protected gold nanoparticles, an area of intense research activity. Read More.

	New study may shed light on protein-drug interactions ARGONNE, Ill. (Jan. 11, 2008) — Proteins, the biological molecules that are involved in virtually every action of every organism, may themselves move in surprising ways, according to a recent study from the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory that may shed new light on how proteins interact with drugs and other small molecules. Read more.

	Argonne, UIC researchers get the dirt on prairie soil ARGONNE, Ill. (Dec. 7, 2007) — Researchers from Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Illinois at Chicago have dug up some interesting dirt on prairie soil and certain crops and grasses common to the central Midwest. Read More.

	Unveiling the Molecular Structure of the Target of Many Drugs More than 40 years after beta blockers were first used clinically, scientists can finally got a close-up look at the drugs' molecular target: the β2-adrenergic receptor. The work is particularly exciting because it offers the first glimpse into an important, but scientifically elusive family of human proteins called G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Read More.

	Argonne's Joachimiak and Rosenbaum Honored with 2007 Compton Award ARGONNE, Ill. (May 7, 2007) — The Department of Energy's Advanced Photon Source (APS) and the APS Users Organization have announced that the 2007 Arthur H. Compton Award will be presented jointly to Andrzej Joachimiak and Gerold Rosenbaum of Argonne National Laboratory for pioneering advances and leadership that helped to establish the APS as a premier location worldwide for protein crystallography research. Read more.

	New crystallization method to ease study of protein structures ARGONNE, Ill. (March 7, 2007) – Researchers at the Midwest Center for Structural Genomics, the Structural Genomics Consortium and the Structural Biology Center at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have developed a new technique for crystallizing proteins that will ease experimentation into protein structures. Read more.

	Cancer cells forming blood vessels send their copper to the edge ARGONNE, Ill. (Feb. 26, 2007) — New information about a link between the growth of blood vessels critical to the spread of cancer and the copper in our bodies has been discovered by researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and the University of Chicago, using a beamline at the Advanced Photon Source. Read more.

	Protein structure may lead to treatment for infection targeting cystic fibrosis patients ARGONNE, Ill. (June 9, 2006) – Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have determined the structure of a key protein believed to play a role in a deadly infection that afflicts the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients. This finding, published in today's issue of Science, may lead to a new drug to treat the bacterial infection. Read more.

	Membrane protein 'factory' may lead to new drug treatments ARGONNE, Ill. (June 2, 2006) — Biologists at Argonne have engineered and patented a bacterial factory that enables the study of membrane proteins. These proteins are challenging to study, but critical to understand because they represent 60 percent of drug targets. Studies of membrane proteins could lead to new and improved pharmaceutical treatments for a broad range of illnesses such as depression, heart disease, addictions and cystic fibrosis. Read more.

	Novel approach to studying cancer cells could reduce therapy side effects ARGONNE, Ill. (May 5, 2006) — New cancer therapies with minimal side effects could result from a novel approach to studying cancer cells underway at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory. This research could also lead to new medications for diseases, such as eczema, macular degeneration and rheumatoid arthritis, which involve pathological capillary formation. Read more.

	Argonne researchers find 217 new targets for anti-cancer drugs ARGONNE, Ill. (April 15, 2006) — By identifying novel genes critical to cancer progression, biologists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have expanded the number of drug targets researchers have available for study to find ways to stop tumors in their tracks. Read more.

	Stevens Named Argonne Associate Laboratory Director for Computing and Life Sciences; new divisions created ARGONNE, Ill. (April 11, 2006) – Rick Stevens has been appointed Associate Laboratory Director for Computing and Life Sciences at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory. Read more.

	Argonne's Structural Biology Center first to produce 1,000 structures that improve understanding of human and environmental health ARGONNE, Ill. (Jan. 27, 2006) — Researchers at the Structural Biology Center at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have contributed their 1,000th structure to the Protein Data Bank. The data bank houses the molecular structures of all proteins characterized so far and makes them available to researchers worldwide to study. Read more.