Part Four of a five-part series outlining the proposals awarded “Discovery” Laboratory Research and Development funds for 2010. This part describes work toward an ingenious nanodevice for analyzing single-cell metabolomics.

Scientists have learned how an interval of DNA in an unexplored region of the human genome increases the risk for coronary artery disease, the leading cause of death worldwide. Their research paints a fuller picture of a genetic risk for the disease that was discovered only three years ago and which lurks in one out of two people.

Life’s smallest motor, a protein that shuttles cargo within cells and helps cells divide, does so by rocking up and down like a seesaw according to new high-resolution snapshots of a protein called kinesin. The result is the closest look yet at the structural changes kinesin proteins undergo as they ferry molecules. (Image: Charles Sindelar, Brandeis University)

The structure of a protein that helps relay electrical pulses between neurons has been fully mapped using the Advanced Light Source. This much-anticipated milestone could lead to new treatments for neurological diseases and a better understanding of how the nervous system works.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has been awarded $12.8 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for research into cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, radioactive decontamination and a variety of other health conditions.

In the span of a few minutes, scientists at Berkeley Lab’s National Center for X-ray Tomography can produce three-dimensional CAT scans of entire cells. The facility promises to expedite drug discovery and biofuels research.

Scientists have pieced together a mechanism that causes a type of human adult stem cell to permanently stop dividing after being exposed to ionizing radiation. Their work sheds light on cellular senescence, a process in which cells stop dividing that is linked to cancer and aging.

Scientists have revealed the role played by the least-understood part of a first-responder molecule that rushes in to bind and repair breaks in DNA strands. Their research could lead to improved cancer treatment.

There’s a new way to explore biology’s secrets. With a flash of light, scientists zeroed in on the type of neural cell that controls swimming in larval zebrafish. The technique could become a powerful way to learn how biological systems work.

The structure of a protein in days — not months or years — ushers in a new era in genomics research. Scientists have developed a high-throughput protein pipeline that could expedite the development of biofuels and elucidate how proteins carry out life’s vital functions.