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Berkeley Lab researchers report that records from a decade's worth of solar power installations indicate that overall costs have declined significantly because of decreases in associated expenses such as labor and overhead -- most likely because of federal, state, and local support for solar photovoltaic systems.

Scientists from the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute and Berkeley Lab have developed a set of molecular tools that provide important insight into the complex genomes of multicellular organisms. The strategy promises to clarify the longstanding mystery of the role played by vast stretches of DNA sequence that do not code for the functional units -- genes -- that nevertheless may have a powerful regulatory influence. The research is described in the Feb. 12 Nature.

Hollywood stars of a certain age take note: Research at Berkeley Lab suggests that a protein linked to the spread of several major human cancers may also hold great potential for the elimination of wrinkles and the rejuvenation of the skin. If this promise bears fruit, the protein, called RHAMM, could one day replace injections with neurotoxins that carry such unpleasant side-effects as muscle paralysis and loss of facial expressions.

What does uncovering the true authorship of plays attributed to Shakespeare have to do with identifying our genetic ancestors or classifying new life forms? All involve the comparative analysis of long sets of data and all will benefit from a unique new analytical tool developed by researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

"Aldehyde tags" devised by scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are used to label proteins in bacterial recombinant-DNA systems -- and now in proteins that can only be expressed by mammalian systems. While some recombinant drugs like insulin are made in bacterial systems, most have to be produced by mammalian cells. Aldehyde tags direct chemical modifications to specific sites on proteins, including monoclonal antibodies and other therapeutics important in the pharmaceutical industry.

An international team led by scientists from the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute and the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory have translated the genetic code that explains the complex biochemical machinery making brown-rot fungi uniquely destructive to wood. The same processes that provide easier access to the energy-rich sugar molecules bound up in the plant's tenacious architecture are leading to innovations for the biofuels industry.