Author: PhysOrg
Title: First cells reprogrammed to make synthetic polymers - and virus-resistant drug manufacturers
Reference PhysOrg 3 June 2021
Year: 2021
Type: Science
Subject: A study led by the LMB has developed the first cells that can construct artificial polymers from building blocks that are not found in nature, by following instructions the researchers encoded in their genes.
Keywords: synthetic genome; bacteria; viruses; polymer; amino acids; Escherichia coli (E.coli); Jason Chin; codons; antibiotics; tRNAs; macrocycles; drugs; genetic code; sequence; monomers
Photographs:Author: Cookson, Clive
Title: Genetic code breakthrough opens door to advanced materials
Reference Financial Times 4 June 2021
Year: 2021
Type: Science
Subject: A project led by Jason Chin has re-engineered the genetic code of microbes to create a synthetic cell with capabilities unlike anything in nature, opening up the possibility of new materials for everything from plastics to antibiotics.
Keywords: Jason Chin; genetic code; microbes; synthetic cell; antibiotics; amino acids; E. coli; “codons”; monomers; “non-natural building blocks”; viruses; Syn61 bacterium; biodegradable plastics
Photographs: Jason Chin portrait image (MRC-LMB)Author: Highfield, Roger
Title: Next generation GM using synthetic bacteria paves way for materials revolution
Reference Science Museum Blog 4 June 2021
Year: 2021
Type: Science
Subject: Jason Chin team have found a way to create a synthetic bacterium to make proteins composed of novel amino acids, designed by scientists, that lie beyond the canonical 20 found in nature.
Keywords: Jason Chin; amino acids; synthetic bacterium; viruses; E. coli; genetic code; codon; Syn61; polymers; monomers; antibiotics; macrocycles; biodegradable plastics
Photographs: Team working in the lab (MRC LMB); Jason Chin talking to Roger Highfield at the Science MusuemAuthor: Cambridge Independent
Title: Dr Wasi Faruqi’s structural biology work at the LMB recognised
Reference Cambridge Independent 16-22 June 2021
Year: 2021
Type: Awards & Prizes
Subject: Wasi Faruqi Is awarded an MBE for services to medical research in the Queen’s Birthday honours.
Keywords: Abdul (Wasi) Faruqi; Queen’s Birthday honours; MBE; cryoEM; Richard Henderson; X-ray crystallography; award
Photographs: Wasi Faruqi in his office (MRC LMB)Author: Brackley, Paul
Title: First synthetic cells that could make drugs created at LMB
Reference Cambridge Independent 9-15 June 2021
Year: 2021
Type: Science
Subject: Scientists at the LMB have programmed bacteria to act like renewable and programmable factories, with the potential to create antibodies or biodegradable plastics
Keywords: Jason Chin; antibiotics; biodegradable plastics; synthetic genome; polymers; building blocks; monomers; bacteria; viruses; E. coli; codon; amino acids; macrocycles; genetic code; Daniel de la Torre; Wesley Robertson; Louise Funke; Julius Fredens
Photographs: Jason Chin in lab (MRC LMB); Team in Lab; Reprogrammed bacteria growing on a plate (MRC LMB)Author: Winter, Greg
Title: Sir Dai Rees obituary
Reference The Guardian 25 July 2021
Year: 2021
Type: Obituary
Subject: Sir Dai Rees who revolutionised the way the Medical Research Council (MRC) interacted with industry has died. Sir Greg Winter looks back on his life and career.
Keywords: Dai Rees; Keytruda antibody Humira; polysaccharide chemist; polymers; Unilever; Mr Whippy ice cream; LifeArc; MRC Collaborative Centre; NIMR; Centre for Protein Engineering; Cambridge Antibody Technology (CAT)
Photographs: Sir Dai Rees portrait imageAuthor: Taylor, Mark
Title: Strength of the powerlifting community helps put Camille Holland on the path to world championships
Reference Cambridge Independent, 3 August 2021
Year: 2021
Type: Miscellaneous
Subject: Camille Holland, a member of the LMB’s Human Resources team, talks to the Cambridge Independent about powerlifting, and the support of the powerlifting community with her continuing training ahead of the World Powerlifting Championships in October
Keywords: Camille Holland; World Powerlifting Championships; Great Britian; lockdown; Iron Ladies; community; weight lifting; gym
Photographs: Camille Holland in trainingAuthor: University of Cambridge
Title: Spread of Delta SARS-CoV-2 variant driven by combination of immune escape and increased infectivity
Reference University of Cambridge 6 September 2021
Year: 2021
Type: Science
Subject: Guido Papa and Anna Albecka-Moreau in the James lab contribute to University of Cambridge study, finding that Delta variant spike protein induces higher cell-cell fusion and is less sensitive to inhibition by neutralising antibodies present in vaccinated individuals than the original SARS-CoV-2 strain
Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; Delta variant; dominant; evade neuralising antibodies; mutations; transmissible; vaccines; coronavirus; Alpha; COVID-19; Oxford/AstraZeneca; Pfizer; ‘pseudotyped virus’; organoids; Guido Papa; Anna Albecka-Moreau; ACE2; Partha Rakshit; Anurag Agrawal; spike proteins
Photographs:Author: Goodyear, Charis
Title: The neurobiologist who grew ‘mini-brain’ tissues in a dish
Reference University of Cambridge 22 September 2021
Year: 2021
Type: Science
Subject: Cell Biology Group Leader Madeline Lancaster discusses how her ‘failed’ attempt to grow neural stem cells led to the development of brain organoids – miniature brain tissues – which she uses in her research today to better understand the human brain.
Keywords: Madeline Lancaster; ‘mini-brain’; Petri dish; floating balls; Matrigel; self-organise; organoids; stem cell; great apes; gorilla; chimpanzee; neurons; neurodegeneration; cognitive capabilities
Photographs: Madeline Lancaster in the labAuthor: Wade, John D., Jones J. H.
Title: The life and work of Robert (Bob) C. Sheppard
Reference Journal of Peptide Science 24 August 2021
Year: 2021
Type: Alumni; History - Reminiscences
Subject: A look at the life and work of Robert Charles Sheppard (1932-2019) known to his friends as Bob. He was a leading pioneer of solid phase peptide synthesis and made the most significant and fundamental European contribution to the art of peptide synthesis since Emil Fischer.
Keywords: Robert (Bob) Sheppard; alumni; Max Perutz; peptide; protein chemistry; Doug Dyckes; Eric Atherton; solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS); Tom Creighton; polyamide; Derek Clive; Reza Arshady; David East; Mike Gait; Fred Sanger; George Brownlee; Chris Logan; amino acids; Queen's Award for Technological Achievement; Fmoc; oligonucleotide; John Wade
Photographs: Bob Sheppard in car in postgraduate days; 1957 Cambridge University Chemical Laboratory staff and postgraduate students group photo; Photo of Bob with Josef Rudinger; LMB's Peptide and Nucleic Acid Chemistry group comprising Sheppard and Gait's research teams in 1980 (MRC LMB Photo); Bob with Eric Atherton; Bob receiving the Josef Rudinger Memorial Medal from R. B. MerrifieldAuthor: Brackley, Paul
Title: Sjors Scheres, of MRC LMB, earns Royal Society Leeuwenhoek Medal for innovations in cryo-EM image analysis
Reference Cambridge Independent 19 August 2021
Year: 2021
Type: Awards & Prizes
Subject: Sjors Scheres,group leader in the Structural Studies division, has won the Royal Society’s Leeuwenhoek Medal, for his innovations in the field of electron cryo-microscopy.
Keywords: Sjors Scheres; Leeuwenhoek Medal; cryo-EM; RELION; Alzheimer’s; Michel Goedert; tau filaments; amyloids; award; atomic level
Photographs: Sjor Scheres in his office (MRC-LMB)Author: Brackley, Paul
Title: The body clock, our heartbeat and the impact on our health
Reference Cambridge Independent 27 October 2021
Year: 2021
Type: Science
Subject: LMB and AstraZeneca research that suggests why shift workers are prone to heart problems and the elderly are more likely to have a cardiac event in the morning
Keywords: Heart rate; circadian rhythms; ‘body clock’; John O’Neill; Peter Newham; AstraZeneca; heart cells; shift workers; arrhythmias; ion; cardiac sodium; potassium; Bluesky collaboration; chrono-pharmacology; cardiac event
Photographs: John O’Neill with his group (MRC LMB)Author: Brackley, Paul
Title: LMB reveals fresh insight into neurodegenerative disease
Reference Cambridge Independent 6 October 2021
Year: 2021
Type: Science
Subject: New insight into a range of neurodegenerative diseases has been achieved by LMB using cryo-electron microscopy
Keywords: Michel Goedert; Sjors Scheres; tauopathies; cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM); tau filaments; Alzheimer’s; neurodegeneration; brain tissues
Photographs: Sjors in his office (MRC-LMB); Michel in labAuthor: UKRI News
Title: Scientists uncover circadian rhythm in heart cells
Reference UKRI News 15 October 2021
Year: 2021
Type: Science
Subject: Study done by the LMB has shown how circadian rhythms in heart cells help to change heart function and may explain why shift workers are more vulnerable to heart problems
Keywords: Circadian rhythms; ions; AstraZeneca; Blue Sky Initiative; heart function; heart cells; internal clock; John O’Neill; cardiac; shift work; sleep patterns; heart rhythms
Photographs:Author: Brackley, Paul
Title: Mini-brains used to study development and disease
Reference Cambridge Independent 29 September 2021
Year: 2021
Type: Science
Subject: Madeline Lancaster has earned a Vallee Scholarship for pioneering work using cerebral organoids, which are helping her group to answer fundamental questions
Keywords: Madeline Lancaster; ‘mini-brains’; Covid-19 virus; cerebral organoids; human stem cells; Petri dish; floating balls; SARS-CoV-2; Vallee Foundation; prize; neurons; “Great Apes’; Matrigel; neurological diseases
Photographs: Madeline in lab (MRC-LMB photo)Author: Brackley, Paul
Title: Global bottleneck holding up discovery using cryo-EM is solved by MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge
Reference Cambridge Independent 26 November 2021
Year: 2021
Type: Science
Subject: Chris Russo and PhD student, Katerina Naydenova, are interviewed by the Cambridge Independent on their exciting new optimisation method for making cryo-EM grids
Keywords: Chris Russo; Katerina Naydenova; cryo-electron microscopy; grids; all-gold; HexAuFoil; semiconductor processing; MEMS technology; microlithography; bottleneck; Quantifoil; SPT Labtech; Richard Henderson
Photographs: Katerina Naydenova in lab (MRC-LMB photo); Katerina Naydenova, Greg McMullen and Chris Russo with cryo-EM; Picture of HexAuFoil grid (MRC LMB Photo); Jan Löwe, Richard Henderson and Chris Russo at the inaugural exhibition in the LMB’s new exhibition room; Chris Russo with cryo-EMAuthor: ALZFORUM
Title: Double Spiral Sets TDP-43 Apart from Other Amyloids
Reference ALZFORUM 10 December 2021
Year: 2021
Type: Science
Subject: A recent paper from Benjamin Ryskeldi-Falcon’s group reveals the first atomic structure of TDP-43 filaments from the brains of people with ALS and FTD diseases.
Keywords: Benjamin Ryskeldi-Falcon; TDP-43; ALS/FTD; brain; double-spiral fold; filaments; amyloidogenic protein; C-terminal fragments; tau
Photographs:Author: Max Planck Institute
Title: The institute mourns the loss of Kenneth C. Holmes
Reference Max Planck Institute 8 November 2021
Year: 2021
Type: Alumni - Obituary
Subject: Ken Holmes, LMB alumnus and friend, has died at the age of 86. He was a PhD student with Rosalind Franklin at Birkbeck College, London, and moved to the LMB alongside Aaron Klug in 1961
Keywords: Ken Holmes; J. D. Bernal; Roselind Franklin; tobacco mosaic virus (TMV); X-ray diffraction; Hugh Huxley; myosin filaments; muscle; APT; Aaron Klug; synchrotron; obituary; alumni
Photographs:Author: EMBO Communications
Title: Twenty-six young investigators join the EMBO community
Reference EMBO 8 December 2021
Year: 2021
Type: Alumni - Awards & Prizes
Subject: EMBO welcomes 26 new members of the EMBO Young Investigator Network, including Christian Münch and Clemens Plaschka both MRC LMB alumni
Keywords: EMBO; Awards; young investigator programme; Christian Münch; Clemens Plaschka; mammalian mitrochondrial unfolded protein response; mRNA; alumni
Photographs: Münch, Christian portrait image; Plaschka, Clemens portrait imageAuthor: Makowski, Lee
Title: Donald Caspar (1927-2021)
Reference Nature 6 January 2022
Year: 2021
Type: Alumni - Obituary
Subject: Don Caspar, LMB alumnus, has died at the age of 94. Don first came to the MRC Unit for the Study of the Molecular Structure of Biological Systems (now the LMB) as a Postdoctoral Fellow in 1955
Keywords: Don Caspar; tobacco mosaic virus (TMV); James Watson; Francis Crick; spherical virus particles; cubic symmetry; icosahedral symmetry; tomato bush stunt virus; Aaron Klug; quasi-equivalence; rod-shaped; alumni; obituary; Rosalind Franklin; X-ray crystallography; electron microscopy; fibre diffraction
Photographs: Black and White image of Don CasparAuthor: John Innes Centre
Title: Understanding the molecular machines that express photosynthetic genes; Introducing Michael Webster
Reference John Innes Centre Blog 5 January 2022
Year: 2022
Type: Alumni - Career Structure
Subject: Michael Webster shares insights into his research, scientific interests and career so far as he joins the John Innes Centre as a Group Leader
Keywords: Michael Weber; John Innes Centre; alumni; Lori Passmore; cryo-EM; Ccr4-Not; mRNA; protein; Group Leader; decoding
Photographs: Michael WeberAuthor: Ramakrishnan Venki.; Henderson, Richard
Title: Thomas Arthur Steitz. 23 August 1940-9 October 2018
Reference Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of The Royal Society 1 December 2021
Year: 2021
Type: Alumni - Obituary
Subject: Thomas Steitz Royal Society Biographical Memoir written by Venki Ramakrishnan and Richard Henderson
Keywords: Thomas A. Steitz; macromolecules; a-chymotrypsin; David Blow; Max Perutz; crystallography; Fourier maps; Richard Henderson; N-formy-ltryptophan; Brian Matthews; dioxan; hydrolysis; Brian Hartley; trypsin; Joan Steitz; Francis Crick; ATCase; hydrophobic; Hans Neurath; Ross Jakes; Jens Birktoft; alumni; 50S structure; tRNA; ribosome
Photographs: Portrait image of Thomas; Image of Thomas as small child with Grandfather; Thomas as child with family; Thomas at Protein Crystallograpy workshop in 1968; Joan and Thomas walking in the Alps; Thomas with other members of WERMS; Thomas and Joan at CSH meeting in 1978; Thomas with Nenad Ben, Peter Moore and Poul Nissen in 2000Author: Lawrence, Peter
Title: Celia Milstein obituary
Reference The Guardian 16 December 2020
Year: 2020
Type: Obituary
Subject: Peter Lawrence recalls his friend Celia Milstein who has died at the age of 92.
Keywords: Celia Milstein; obituary; César Milstein; monoclonal antibodies; Babraham research campus
Photographs: Celia in her garden; Celia visiting the biochemisty department in 1958Author: Clare Hall
Title: “Being part of Clare Hall was, and still is, an altogether enriching experience”
Reference Clare Hall, University of Cambridge 10 January 2022
Year: 2022
Type: Career Structure
Subject: Wasi Faruqi reflects on his scientific career and his engagement with Clare Hall as a Life Member.
Keywords: Wasi Faruqi; MBE; career; Clare Hall; Murray Stewart; X-ray; Electron Microscopy; Hugh Huxley; cryo-EM; Richard Henderson
Photographs: Wasi in his office (MRC-LMB photo)Author: Trinity College Cambridge
Title: Didier Queloz and John Sutherland lead £10m Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe
Reference Trinity College Cambridge 13 January 2022
Year: 2022
Type: Science
Subject: The Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe to support international and cross-disciplinary research on planetology and life beyond Earth is being established with, John Sutherland, being appointed as Associate Director of the centre
Keywords: John Sutherland; Didier Queloz; The Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe; University of Cambridge; chemistry of life; Mars; Planetary Science and Life in the Universe (IPLU); prebiotic; Astrophysics; interdisciplinary
Photographs: Image of Professor Didier Queloz and Professor John Sutherland