Author: Strittmatter, Lisa
Title: The Biochemist Blog: Finding the founding fathers of molecular biology
Reference Biochemical Society 29 November 2017
Year: 2017
Type: History - Reminiscences
Subject: Lisa Strittmatter, PhD student in Structural Studies Division, explores a recent talk given at the LMB by Professor Sir John Meurig Thomas, and the light it sheds on the key scientists involved in the origins of molecular biology.
Keywords: John Meurig Thomas; Richard Henderson; Lisa Strittmatter; cryo-electron microscopy; Max Perutz; John Kendrew; X-ray emission; diffraction; William Henry Bragg; William Lawrence Bragg; JD Bernal; Dorothy Hodgkin; crystallography; haemoglobin; European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO); ‘founding fathers’
Photographs: Lisa with John Meurig Thomas and Richard Henderson; Bragg X-ray spectrometer; Lisa in the labAuthor: Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
Title: Unlike CRISPR Knockout and RNAi Knockdown, Trim-Away Depletes Proteins Straightaway
Reference GEN News 17 November 2017
Year: 2017
Type: Science
Subject: Dean Clift from Leo James’ group, in collaboration with LMB alumnus Melina Schuh at the Max Planck Institute, have developed a new technique – Trim-Away – which allows proteins to be rapidly depleted from cells.
Keywords: Dean Clift; Melina Schuh; CRISPR/Cas9; Trim-Away; RNAi; Leo James; Trim21; “electric shock”; antibody; Huntington’s disease; huntingtin; mammalian cells
Photographs:Author: Cambridge Network
Title: Cambridge MP welcomes scientist to Parliament in Royal Society pairing scheme
Reference Cambridge Network 7 December 2017
Year: 2017
Type: Events and Celebrations
Subject: Glenn Masson spent a week shadowing Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge, through the Royal Society’s Pairing Scheme, an initiative which pairs scientists with MPs to foster exchange of knowledge and understanding of politics, policy and science.
Keywords: Glenn Masson; Daniel Zeichner; Cambridge MP; Royal Society; Pairing Scheme; Westminister; shadow; Parliament
Photographs:Author: Meredith, Natasha
Title: Potassium is critical to circadian rhythms in human red blood cells
Reference University of Surrey 12 December 2017
Year: 2017
Type: Science
Subject: An innovative new study from the University of Surrey and John O’Neill’s group from the LMB’s Cell Biology Division has uncovered the secrets of the circadian rhythms in red blood cells and identified potassium as the key to unravelling the mystery.
Keywords: John O’Neill; University of Surrey; red blood cells; Fatima Labeed; potassium; circadian rhythms; dielectrophoresis; ‘clock genes’
Photographs:Author: Borman, Stu
Title: Look Back at 2007: C&EN steps back in time to look at research advances from a decade ago. G Protein Receptor Structures Aided Drug Design
Reference C&EN 18 December 2017
Year: 2017
Type: Science
Subject: A decade after a key structural analysis, scientists have a better understanding of the pharmaceutically important family of receptor proteins – G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR). Includes reference to the work done at the LMB by Chris Tate
Keywords: G protein-couple receptors (GPCRs); Chris Tate; StaR; Gebhard Schertler; Heptares Therapeutics; PZM21; RPC1063; AstraZeneca; drug design
Photographs:Author: University of Copenhagen
Title: Distinct human mutations can alter the effect of medicine
Reference University of Copenhagen 15 December 2017
Year: 2017
Type: Science
Subject: About one third of all medicine binds to the same type of receptor in the human body. An estimated 3 percent of the population have receptors of this type that are so genetically different that they are predisposed to altered, ineffective or adverse responses to medicine, a new study shows
Keywords: GPCRs; drug targets; Madan Babu; Alexander Hauser; therapeutic; University of Copenhagen; mutations; genome sequencing; ExAC project; Genomes project; receptors; personalised medicine
Photographs:Author: Medical Press
Title: Scientists established a comprehensive protein interactions map of the replication machinery of a chronic virus
Reference Medical Press 20 December 2017
Year: 2017
Type: Science
Subject: Chronic viral infections are amongst the biggest threats to human health worldwide. Leo James’ group from the LMB’s PNAC Division, in collaboration with scientists at the Austrian Academy of Sciences and University of Basel, have established the first comprehensive overview of cellular proteins interacting with the LCMV polymerase.
Keywords: Chronic viral infections; HIV; hepatitis; LCMV polymerase; human proteome; antiviral therapeutics; viral proteins; Kseniya Khamina; TRIM21; DDX3X; infection; Andreas Bergthaler; Leo James
Photographs:Author: Devlin, Hannah
Title: Alcohol can cause irreversible genetic damage to stem cells, says study
Reference The Guardian 3 January 2018
Year: 2018
Type: Science
Subject: Link between drinking and cancer clarified by study – led by KJ Patel’s group in the LMB’s PNAC Division – which indicates alcohol causes cancer by scrambling DNA in cells, eventually leading to mutations.
Keywords: KJ Patel; alcohol; cancer; acetaldehyde; DNA damage; aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2); flushing mutation; stem cells; blood cells
Photographs:Author: Brackley, Paul
Title: Magnetic attraction of AstraZeneca to MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Reference Cambridge Independent 8 January 2018
Year: 2018
Type: Biotechnology
Subject: AstraZeneca has moved its Nuclear Magnetic Resonance laboratory to the LMB while its new global R&D centre is built nearby.
Keywords: AstraZeneca; Maria Flocco; nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR); Hugh Pelham; David Neuhaus; Kevin Embrey; superconducting solenoid; Blue Skies; PAR; cancer; drug discovery; cryo-electron microscopy; consortium
Photographs: David Neuhaus, and Kevin Embrey in the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) labAuthor: Davies, Emma
Title: The rhythm of life
Reference Education in Chemistry 11 January 2018
Year: 2018
Type: Science
Subject: John O’Neill, from Cell Biology Division, discusses how unravelling the complex mechanisms of the body clock has led to some fascinating discoveries worthy of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Keywords: circadian rhythms; John O’Neill; Jeffrey Hall; Michael Rosbash; Michael Young; clock genes; PER; TIM protein; jet lag; suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)
Photographs:Author: Arney, Kat
Title: Unlocking the secrets of the brain - From autism and schizophrenia to Alzheimer’s lab-grown mini-brains could be the key to solving the biggest mysteries about human development and disease
Reference Science Focus 5 January 2018
Year: 2018
Type: Science
Subject: Madeline Lancaster, from the LMB’s Cell Biology Division, discusses how lab-grown ‘mini-brains’ could be the key to solving the biggest mysteries about human brain development and disease.
Keywords: Madeline Lancaster; ‘mini-brain’; organoids; brain stem cells; ‘rosettes’; ‘black box’; ‘brain Lego’; epilepsy; Alzheimer’s disease; telomeres; autism
Photographs:Author: Brackley, Paul
Title: Pioneering lab at Bourn Hall Clinic uncovers secrets about the biology of human eggs
Reference Cambridge Independent 21 November 2017
Year: 2017
Type: Alumni
Subject: Dr Melina Schuh’s new laboratory at Bourn Hall Clinic is carrying out ground-breaking research into human eggs. It is seeking to uncover the secrets of why older women find it harder to fall pregnant
Keywords: Melina Schuh; Bourn Hall Clinic; Chromosomal abnormalities; human egg; Bianka Seres; meiosis; aneuploidy; spindle fibres; Max Planck Institute; older women; miscarriage
Photographs: Melina Schuh; Bianka Seres researching in lab.Author: Penn Medicine News
Title: Penn’s Basser Center for BRCA Names Cambridge Cancer Researcher Ashok Venkitaraman Winner of 2017 Basser Global Prize
Reference Penn Medicine News 28 November 2017
Year: 2017
Type: Alumni - Awards & Prizes
Subject: The Basser Center for BRCA has announced that Ashok Venkitaraman is the recipient of its fifth annual Basser Global Prize for helping explain how individuals with inherited BRCA2 mutations are predisposed to cancer.
Keywords: Ashok Venkitaraman; Cancer; BRCA1/2; mutation; The Basser Center; Basser Global Prize; targeted therapies; award
Photographs:Author: International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB)
Title: 2018 ISCB Innovator Award M. Madan Babu
Reference ISCB 15 February 2018
Year: 2018
Type: Awards & Prizes
Subject: The Award is given to a leading scientist who is within a decade and half of receiving their PhD degree, and has consistently made outstanding contributions to the field and continues to forge new directions.
Keywords: Award; Madan Babu; ISCB innovator award; cellular regulation; signalling proteins;
Photographs: Portrait of MadanAuthor: Brackley, Paul
Title: Dr Jan Löwe says he’s ‘humbled’ to take over as director of MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Reference Cambridge Independent 14 February 2018
Year: 2018
Type: Events and Celebrations
Subject: Deputy Director, Jan Löwe, will be taking over from Hugh Pelham as Director of the LMB this spring
Keywords: Jan Löwe; new director; Hugh Pelham; “excited and humbled”; ‘Nobel Prize factory’; Richard Henderson
Photographs: Jan Löwe (LMB); Hugh Pelham (LMB); Building; Hugh Pelham with Richard Henderson; picture of crowds on an open dayAuthor: Knapton, Sarah
Title: Alzheimer’s disease will become manageable like HIV, say award-winning scientists
Reference The Telegraph 6 March 2018
Year: 2018
Type: Awards & Prizes
Subject: 2018 Brain Prize winner Michel Goedert, group leader in the Neurobiology Division, who discovered the importance of tau protein in Alzheimer’s said he could see a time when dementia became a chronic illness like HIV.
Keywords: Michel Goedert; Brain Prize; tau protein; Alzheimer’s; HIV; dementia; Lundbeck Foundation; amyloid; neurodegenerative disease; John Hardy; Bart De Strooper; Christian Haass
Photographs:Author: University of Cambridge - Department of Zoology
Title: Regulation of DNA replication during early embryogenesis
Reference University of Cambridge 5 March 2018
Year: 2018
Type: Science
Subject: Julian Sale and collaborators from the Francis Crick Institute and the Department of Zoology have discovered and characterised a new macromolecular protein complex that is essential for rapid DNA replication and cleavage cycles in very early embryos.
Keywords: Julian Sale; Xenopus laevis; Y RNS’s; xNuRD; embryos; replications; mid-blastula transition (MBT)
Photographs:Author: Woodmansey, David
Title: Biomarker offers new hope for foot-and-mouth detector
Reference Vet Times 13 March 2018
Year: 2018
Type: Science
Subject: A new discovery by David Komander’s group and collaborators could allow scientists to detect animals infected with the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) and distinguish them from those that have been vaccinated.
Keywords: David Komander; foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV); The Pirbright Institute; diagnostics; test; antiviral signalling; biomarker; vaccination
Photographs:Author: Ferry, Georgina
Title: Obituary - John Sulston (1942-2018)
Reference Nature 19 March 2018
Year: 2018
Type: Obituary
Subject: Nature looks back at the life and work of John Sulston, from his time investigating cell fate, lineage and the genetics of C. elegans at the LMB, to his involvement with the Human Genome Project.
Keywords: John Sulston; Human Genome Project; caenorhabditis elegans; Francis Crick; Sydney Brenner; Robert Horvitz; worm; Sanger Centre; The Common Thread; sequencing; cell death; Jim Watson
Photographs: John Sulston in labAuthor: Brackley, Paul
Title: Dr M Madan Babu of MRC LMB wins prize for insights into the machinery inside our cells
Reference Cambridge Independent 21 March 2018
Year: 2018
Type: Awards & Prizes
Subject: In the first year that the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists have been extended to the UK, M. Madan Babu is named Life Sciences Laureate for his work on the structure of proteins, including G-protein coupled receptors which are major drug targets, and disordered regions.
Keywords: Blavatnik Award; Madan Babu; Life Sciences Laureate; G-protein coupled receptors (GCPRs); ‘intrinsically disordered regions’ IDR; computational biology; ‘pocket’; proteins; mutation
Photographs: Five pictures of Madan and one with his group, taken around the buildingAuthor: Brackley, Paul
Title: Winner of Brain Prize 2018, Prof Michel Goedert, on our best hope for tackling Alzheimer’s disease
Reference Cambridge Independent 24 March 2018
Year: 2018
Type: Awards & Prizes
Subject: Michel Goedert, winner of Brain Prize 2018, believes our best hope of fighting Alzheimer’s disease lies in learning to predict who will get it and preventing it from developing in the first place.
Keywords: Brain Prize; Michel Goedert; Alzheimer’s; neurodegenerative diseases; Claude Wischik; Tony Crowther; Michal Novak; John Walker; Cesar Milstein; Ross Jakes; Maria Grazia Spillantini; plaques; tangles; tau protein; prion-like; aggregates; beta-amyloid deposits; Richard Henderson; Sjors Scheres
Photographs: Michel in and around the labAuthor: Bonflo, Claudia
Title: How to find the right mentor for you
Reference The Biochemist Blog 22 March 2018
Year: 2018
Type: Career Structure
Subject: Claudia Bonfio, postdoc in the PNAC Division, shares personal experiences of finding the right mentor to help her through the transition from PhD student to postdoc.
Keywords: Claudia Bonflo; Postdoc; mentor; Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC); PhD students; early-career; ‘Postdoctoral Training Scheme’
Photographs: Claudia with her research goupAuthor: Ball, Philip
Title: Why two brains are better than one
Reference The Guardian 31 March 2018
Year: 2018
Type: Science
Subject: Philip Ball, science writer at The Guardian, has had a ‘mini-brain’ grown from a sample of skin from his arm. He talks to the Madeline Lancaster, and others, to find out how scientists are using such organoids to understand brain growth and disease
Keywords: Madeline Lancaster; neurodegenerative disease; mini-brains; Alzheimer’s; tissue; stem cells; fibroblasts; embryo research; “pluripotency”; Shinya Yamanaka; induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs); tau proteins
Photographs:Author: Bonflo, Claudia
Title: How to be better at networking at conferences
Reference The Biochemist Blog 15 May 2018
Year: 2018
Type: Career Structure
Subject: Claudia Bonfio, postdoc in the PNAC Division, shares her top tips on how to enjoy and get the most out of networking at academic conferences.
Keywords: Claudia Bonflo; Postdoc; collaborations; academic conference; networking
Photographs:Author: Williams, Thomas
Title: First person - Thomas Williams
Reference Journal of Cell Science 23 May 2018
Year: 2018
Type: Career Structure
Subject: ‘First Person’ interview postdoc Thomas Williams about his recent paper, research challenges, mentoring & advice for Early Career Researchers.
Keywords: Thomas Williams; Robert Kay; macropinocytosis (cell drinking); Dictyostelium amoebae; flow cytometry; Douwe Veltman; mentor; dehydrated toe
Photographs: Thomas Williams in the mountains