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Dysfunction in endosomal-lysosomal and autophagic activity is a critical factor in neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Disease. This innovation, developed by UC Berkeley researchers, addresses this by providing compounds that act as activators of the AAA+ ATPases VPS4B, VPS4A, or both, which are key components of the ESCRT (Endosomal sorting complexes required for transport) pathways. The compounds are useful for both therapeutic intervention in these diseases and as essential research reagents, offering a unique mechanism to study the effect of ESCRT pathways in biological systems.

Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) is crucial for various renewable energy applications, but current electrocatalysts often face issues with stability, efficiency, and cost. This invention addresses these challenges by introducing a novel method for synthesizing robust oxygen evolution electrocatalysts. The technology, developed by UC Berkeley researchers, utilizes calixarene-templated iridium compositions. This approach yields highly stable and efficient electrocatalysts, offering significant advantages over traditional iridium-based catalysts. Specifically, this innovation provides superior performance and durability, making it a valuable tool for energy systems like electrolyzers and fuel cells.

      State-of-the-art scanning probe microscopy (SPM) systems, including microwave impedance microscopy (MIM) and near-field scanning microscopy (NSOM), typically operate in a dynamic, non-contact “tapping” mode. Lock-in detection at the probe cantilever’s resonant mechanical oscillation frequency mitigates effects of drift and achieves high measurement sensitivity of local material characteristics. Electrical, mechanical, or other material properties can be measured down to the nanoscale. However, a full time-domain tip-sample response would yield a much richer data set. Unfortunately, existing methodologies require moving the entire scan head to sweep the tip-sample separation at rates far below the resonant frequency of the cantilever or tuning fork—yielding slow scan speeds and outputs vulnerable to drift, 1/f noise, and stray coupling.       To overcome these challenges, UC Berkeley researchers have leveraged high-speed data acquisition, wideband detection electronics, and modern real-time computing to acquire hyperspectral datasets at twice the mechanical resonant frequency of the probe. The invention captures up to hundreds of thousands of curves per second, without sacrificing scan speed, resolution, or stability. It can be straightforwardly integrated on most commercial SPM platforms, and for a wide range of resonantly driven probes, including cantilevers, quartz tuning forks, and qPlus sensor. Among other benefits, the technique enables novel post-processing capabilities, including retrospective enhancement of spatial resolution.

There is a need for robust and reliable electrochemical oxygen sensing, particularly in ambient environments. This innovation, developed by UC Berkeley researchers, addresses this opportunity by providing electrochemical sensors and methods for oxygen sensing using zinc-air battery chemistry. The sensor is a compact electrochemical cell that utilizes an anode (comprising a substrate and a current collector), a cathode (comprising a gas permeable substrate and a current collector), and a separator containing an electrolyte positioned between them. An electronic unit electrically couples the anode and cathode and is configured to receive electrical signals indicative of the oxygen level in the ambient environment. This system offers a novel, potentially cost-effective and efficient approach to oxygen measurement compared to conventional sensing technologies.

Current methods for studying and screening compounds that modulate the activity of receptor proteins, particularly those that form complexes, often lack the sensitivity and real-time kinetic information needed for high-throughput drug discovery. This innovation, developed by UC Berkeley researchers, addresses this need by providing novel receptor proteins engineered for enhanced functional analysis and screening. The core of the invention is a receptor protein complex comprising a first and a second subunit, both incorporating a Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) pair consisting of a donor and an acceptor fluorophore. This molecular design allows for the direct, real-time measurement of conformational changes or complex formation upon ligand binding or compound interaction, offering a significant advantage over traditional methods that rely on less direct or end-point assays. The unique subunit structures—which can include various combinations of domains such as a ligand binding domain, a cysteine rich domain, a transmembrane domain, and an intracellular domain—enable the construction of versatile biosensors for a wide range of receptor types, facilitating the identification of positive or negative modulators with greater speed and precision.

      The widespread occurrence of nutrient-rich and metal-contaminated wastewater presents an environmental challenge and untapped economic opportunity. Ammonia, copper, and phosphorous are prime targets. For example, ammonia is industrially produced by the Haber-Bosch process, a highly energy-intensive (~12.5 kWh/kg-N to convert N2 to ammonia, consuming 1-2% of global energy usage) and greenhouse gas-emitting (~1.2% of global CO2 emissions) technique. After use, primarily as fertilizer, nearly 50% of all U.S.-consumed ammonia ends up in municipal wastewater and animal feedlot retention systems. Technologies presently proposed for recovering critical nutrients and metals from wastewater are limited in scalability by high energy demands, costly chemicals or membrane requirements, low efficiencies, or fouling challenges.       UC Berkeley researchers have developed and demonstrated a low-cost, robust, and near-zero-energy reactor that simultaneously recovers ammonia and other valuable ions (e.g., P and Cu) from wastewater streams. The reactor is driven by sunlight or low-grade waste heat, such that it eliminates the need for external pumping—further cutting energy consumption and capital cost. The functional material is an inexpensive cloth that is also roll-to-roll compatible, making it economically scalable and easy to manufacture. The reactor can be implemented within wastewater streams including municipal wastewater, animal feedlot wastewater, and organic waste digestate. It may further be adapted to recover other valuable resources, such as lithium, from sources like mining wastewater and landfill leachate. It may even be extended beyond nutrient and metal recovery to separation or pre-concentration of volatile organic compounds such as ethanol and methanol from aqueous solutions.

UC Berkeley researchers have developed a novel dispersion system for agricultural and environmental payloads, including seeds, soil amendments, miniature soil sensors, and so forth. Dispersive packages are biodegradable and biomimetically designed with similarities to natural seeds. Aerodynamic properties control large-area dispersions, while importantly, tunable gyroscopic properties are programmed for penetration parameters, such as depth, upon impact. Payload distribution can be fine-tuned accounting for local soil moisture and grain-size.