Author: 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 SutherlandAuthor: ALZFORUM
Title: Cryo-EM Unveils Distinct Aß42 Fibril Structures for Sporadic, Familial AD
Reference ALZFORUM 14 January 2022
Year: 2022
Type: Science
Subject: A recent structural study led by Sjors Scheres, Michel Goedert and Benjamin Ryskeldi-Falcon’s groups has used cryo-EM to detect two main types of Aβ42 filaments from both sporadic and familial Alzheimer’s disease
Keywords: Cryo-EM; Aß42; Sjors Scheres; Ben Ryskeldi-Falcon; Michel Goedert; S Shapes; Fibrils; filaments; tauopathies; luminescent conjugated oligothiophenes (LCOs); neurodegenerative diseases; Tau
Photographs:Author: Cambridge Biomedical Campus
Title: Cambridge demonstrates how science is improving lives
Reference Cambridge Biomedical Campus 25 January 2022
Year: 2022
Type: Miscellaneous
Subject: The LMB recently welcomed George Freeman MP as part of a wider visit to the Cambridge Biomedical Campus to learn how Cambridge is leading innovation in life sciences
Keywords: Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC); George Freeman MP; life science; Jan Löwe; Madeline Lancaster; Chris Russo; visit
Photographs:Author: Stoddart, Charlotte
Title: Structural biology: How proteins got their close-up
Reference Knowable Magazine 3 January 2022
Year: 2022
Type: History - General
Subject: Richard Henderson, from the Structural Studies Division, discusses his work and the evolution of structural biology on the Knowable podcast
Keywords: William Bragg; Lawrence Bragg; X-ray crystallography; James Watson; Francis Crick; Maurice Wilkins; John Kendrew; Myoglobin; Max Perutz; heavy atoms; Richard Henderson; protein structure; EDSAC; ‘computer girls’; Dorothy hodgkin; Rosalind Franklin; amino acids; Roger Kornberg; Cryo-EM; synthetic biology; genetic code
Photographs:Author: O’Toole, Peter
Title: Brad Amos (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology)
Reference The Microscopists 11 March 2022
Year: 2022
Type: Career Structure
Subject: Emeritus scientist Brad Amos is a guest on The Microscopists podcast from Bitesize Bio
Keywords: Brad Amos; Linda Amos; Gail McConnell; Mesolens; confocal microscope; zoology; John White; Mike Fordham; Bio-Rad; monoclonal antibody; John Gilmartin; skits; Robin Hood; the Full Monty; César Milstein; postage stamp; Ascension island
Photographs:Author: Newman, Andy; Luisi Ben
Title: Kiyoshi Nagai. 25 June 1949-27 September 2019
Reference Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of The Royal Society 16 March 2022
Year: 2022
Type: Alumni - Obituary
Subject: Royal Society Biographical Memoir, written by Andy Newman and Ben Luisi looks at the life and career of Kiyoshi Nagai who died in September 2019
Keywords: Kiyoshi Nagai; haemoglobin; spliceosome; Max Perutz; John Kilmartin; Hans Thøgersen; John Kendrick-Jones; Chris Oubridge; Aaron Klug; Daniela Rhodes; Giulio Fermi
Photographs: Kiyoshi as a young man; Kiyoshi in lab with Chris Oubridge; Kiyoshi with Richard Henderson and Venki RamakrishnanAuthor: Cambridge Independent
Title: TB research pioneer joins LMB division
Reference Cambridge Independent February 23-March 1 2022
Year: 2022
Type: Career Structure
Subject: Lalita Ramakrishnan joins the LMB Cell Biology Division as a group leader
Keywords: Lalita Ramakrishnan; TB; Cambridge Molecular Immunity Unit; zebrafish; Mycobacterium marinum; group leader
Photographs: Lalita in the lab (MRC LMB photo)