In line with government instructions, the LMB buildings opened further from Monday 6 July to enable all general lab work, while those that can work from home continue to do so. The LMB COVID-19 risk assessment has been updated and measures are in place to manage the risk from infection including strict social distancing measures in all areas of the building and maintaining high standards of both personal and environmental hygiene, including face masks in most areas.
All internal and external meetings continue to be held via video or teleconferencing. Please use email as the preferred means of contacting members of LMB.
COVID-19 research remains active at LMB, with over 14 separate strands of research into various aspects of the SARS-CoV-2 virus underway:
About Us
The MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) is a research institute dedicated to the understanding of important biological processes at the levels of atoms, molecules, cells and organisms. In doing so, we provide knowledge needed to solve key problems in human health.
Our scientists tackle fundamental, often difficult and long-term research problems. The LMB has made revolutionary contributions to science, such as pioneering X-ray crystallography and electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) to determine protein structures, the sequencing of DNA and the development of monoclonal antibodies. Twelve Nobel Prizes have been awarded for work carried out by LMB scientists.
The LMB also promotes the application and exploitation of our research findings, both by collaboration with existing companies and the founding of new ones, helping to advance medical research and the translation and application of knowledge.
The LMB provides an unsurpassed environment for both young and established researchers, with state-of-the-art facilities and a unique scientific culture. The LMB has always been very diverse, with a truly international outlook. We currently employ men and women from over 50 countries, and LMB alumni work in research organisations across the world.
Insight on Research
First complete atomic model of condensin lays foundation for understanding chromosome compaction
Each of our cells contains about two metres of DNA. To be able to store all of this, the DNA must be very tightly compacted. Jan Löwe’s group have produced the first atomic model of condensin, a complex known to have a role in compacting DNA into chromosomes, in its entirety.
Balancing an appropriate immune response in the gut
Menna Clatworthy’s group has identified a key signalling molecule in determining the balance between wound healing and defence against bacterial invasion, with implications for our understanding of the immune system’s role in inflammatory bowel disease.
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Latest News
Chris Tate and Marta Zlatic elected to EMBO membershipChris Tate and Marta Zlatic, Group Leaders in the LMB’s Structural Studies Division and Neurobiology Division, respectively, have been newly elected as members of EMBO […]
Katja Röper: Development of tubular organsNext in our series of Group Leader profiles is a profile of Katja Röper, a Group Leader in the LMB’s Cell Biology Division. […]
Latest Publications
- Structure of the DOCK2-ELMO1 complex provides insights into regulation of the auto-inhibited state.
Chang, L., et al.
Nat Commun 11(1): 3464. (10th July 2020) - Human CNS barrier-forming organoids with cerebrospinal fluid production.
Pellegrini, L., Bonfio, C., Chadwick, J., Begum, F., Skehel, M., Lancaster, MA.
Science 369(6500). (10th July 2020) - Membrane Architecture in the Spotlight of Correlative Microscopy.
Ganeva, I., Kukulski, W.
Trends Cell Biol. 30(7): 577-587. (10th July 2020) - Genomic diversity in pearl millet inbred lines derived from landraces and improved varieties.
Kanfany, G., et al.
BMC Genomics 21(1): 469. (8th July 2020) - Ankyrin Is An Intracellular Tether for TMC Mechanotransduction Channels.
Tang, YQ., Lee, SA., Rahman, M., Vanapalli, SA., Lu, H., Schafer, WR.
Neuron 107(1): 112-125.e10. (8th July 2020) - The Tumour Suppressor TMEM127 Is a Nedd4-Family E3 Ligase Adaptor Required by Salmonella SteD to Ubiquitinate and Degrade MHC Class II Molecules.
Alix, E., et al.
Cell Host Microbe 28(1): 54-68.e7. (8th July 2020) - Loss of a single methylation in 23S rRNA delays 50S assembly at multiple late stages and impairs translation initiation and elongation.
Wang, W., Li, W., Ge, X., Yan, K., Mandava, CS., Sanyal, S., Gao, N.
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 117(27): 15609-15619. (7th July 2020)
See more Publications