In a development that could lead to better antibiotics, scientists from several institutions including Berkeley Lab derived atomic-scale resolution structures of the cell’s protein-making machine, the ribosome, at key stages of its job. The structures reveal that the ribosome’s ability to rotate an incredible amount without falling apart is due to the never-before-seen springiness of molecular widgets that hold it together.

The structure of the DNA-slicing protein FEN1, an essential player in human DNA replication, has been solved by an international team of life scientists led by researchers at Berkeley Lab and the Scripps Research Institute. FEN1 cuts the “flaps” leftover when new fragments of DNA are assembled during replication and also plays a role in DNA repair. Its protein structure reveals the surprising mechanism behind FEN1’s speed, accuracy, and versatility.

In a discovery that could lead to new ways to fight cancer and other diseases such as cystic fibrosis, scientists from Berkeley Lab and the Scripps Research Institute determined that a cell’s speedy ability to repair damaged DNA relies on the remarkable flexibility of a molecular motor. The discovery was made at the Advanced Light Source.

A tiny motor tasked with one of nature’s biggest jobs is now better understood. The molecular machinery that helps export messenger RNA from a cell’s nucleus has been structurally mapped at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source. Messenger RNA conveys genetic information from the nucleus to the cell’s cytoplasm, where it guides the synthesis of proteins — the workhorses of biology.

In a three-pronged attack on one of the stubbornest problems in materials sciences, groups from Berkeley Lab, UC Berkeley, SLAC, and Stanford have produced the strongest evidence yet that the mysterious pseudogap, hallmark of high-temperature superconductors, is not a gradual transition to the superconducting phase, as long supposed, but instead is a unique and hitherto unknown phase of matter.

It’s not quite Jurassic Park, but who wants Paleozoic scorpions scurrying around anyway? Scientists used a powerful microscope at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source to detect remnants of protein and chitin in the exoskeleton of a 417-million-year-old fossil of an extinct mega-scorpion, a discovery that is several hundred million years older than previously thought possible.

Watching the components of a fuel cell work together under heat and pressure is a challenge, because the best technique, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), can only be used in a vacuum—until now, that is. A working solid oxide electrochemical device operating at 750 degrees Celsius has been studied in detail for the first time by scientists working at the Advanced Light Source, using a new ambient pressure XPS system invented at Berkeley Lab.

With major funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has built new lab space for battery researchers and scientists who investigate “metamaterials,” upgraded an aging transformer bank that supplied electricity to the entire site and constructed a modern facility to support thousands of scientists who visit the Laboratory each year to conduct cutting-edge experiments on all manner of matter.

New clues emerge about how a molecular machine breaks down unwanted proteins in cells, a critical housekeeping chore that helps prevent diseases such as cancer. The insights, thanks to the first molecular-scale description of a giant enzyme called tripeptidyl peptidase II, could also inform the development of obesity-fighting drugs.

Forget the magnets on your fridge. How about a magnet in your fridge, one that keeps your leftover pizza cold while consuming less energy than today’s refrigerators? Someday perhaps. But first scientists at the Advanced Light Source and elsewhere must learn a few things about the magnetocaloric effect.