New research from IB Professor Robert Full and scientists from the Department of Engineering and Tsinghua University in China have created a soft robot nearly as the cockroaches that inspired its design. At 20 to 65 milligrams, these robots are able to carry loads 6 times their weight and withstand the pressure of a 60-kilogram human step.

In the future, these robust, small-scale robots could be useful for search and rescue missions and for fitting into tight, dangerous spaces.

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Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of our most recent PhD graduates and welcoming them as important members of the IB alumni community!

You can view individual alumni profiles highlighting their achievements, professional plans as well as some interesting personal projects here.

A new consensus statement published in Nature Reviews Microbiology raises awareness of the alarming consequences of global climate change on microbes, which have critical functions in animal and human health, agriculture, the global food web and industry.

With recent advancements in portable, reliable, and low-cost scientific instruments, biological field research is flourishing. Now, a group of UC Berkeley undergraduates is newly equipped to investigate the natural world in real time with these new tools at their disposal.

From May 20-28, 2019, the Department of Integrative Biology’s inaugural Field Genomics summer course immersed first-year undergraduates in cutting-edge molecular biology techniques. The course provided thorough hands-on training in skills such as sample collection, nucleotide isolation, and portable nanopore DNA sequencing.

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A genetic mutation to help fend off HIV infection is also associated with a 21% increase in mortality in later life, according to an analysis by IB Professor Rasmus Nielsen & postdoctoral scholar Xinzhu Wei.

“Beyond the many ethical issues involved with the CRISPR babies, the fact is that, right now, with current knowledge, it is still very dangerous to try to introduce mutations without knowing the full effect of what those mutations do,” said Nielsen. “In this case, it is probably not a mutation that most people would want to have. You are actually, on average, worse off having it.”

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The IB Insight Spring 2019 newsletter is here! Learn all about what’s new in IB, our new faculty, and what our IB alumni are up to here.

Flying out of San Francisco International Airport soon? Stop by the new “The Intriguing World of Insects” exhibition in the pre-security area of the San Francisco International Terminal! This exhibit will feature stunning specimens, sculptures, and models on loan from the Essig Museum of Entomology.

Exhibition closes August 18, 2019!

Congratulations to the 10 IB graduate students who have been named Outstanding Graduate Student Instructors! The OGSI Award recognizes GSIs from each department on campus for excellent work in the teaching of undergraduates.

“It’s always dinosaur bones,” says Pat Holroyd, feigning exasperation. She handles Vertebrate Collections for the UC Museum of Paleontology. Leslea Hlusko, a professor in the department of integrative biology, interjects: “But it’s actually better ... dire wolves!” 

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Daniela Kaufer, professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley, shared progress toward addressing another cause of cognitive decline: dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier. The blood-brain barrier ordinarily protects the brain, but Kaufer’s work shows that when the barrier falters, itself a sign of aging, proteins can enter brain cells called astrocytes, which causes inflammation in the brain and leads to cognitive impairments.