In a significant rewriting of the genome, Jason Chin’s group in the LMB’s PNAC Division have synthesised E. coli with just 57 codons, freeing seven codons which could be used to introduce non-canonical amino acids and produce novel polymers.
Syn57 represents a new chapter in the genetic code of life
First structure of human telomerase in dimeric assembly
Kelly Nguyen’s group, in the LMB’s Structural Studies Division, have used cryo-EM to visualise telomerase in a dimeric formation for the first time and demonstrated how dimerization is important for telomere maintenance.
How RECQL5 applies the brakes to speeding RNA polymerase II to safeguard genome stability
Suyang Zhang’s group, in the LMB’s Structural Studies Division, has elucidated how the DNA helicase RECQL5 works with the transcription-coupled DNA repair complex to brake and accelerate RNA polymerase II transcription to maintain genome stability.
Architecture of the disease-prone GluA3 receptor unlocks new avenues for drug design
Ingo Greger’s group, in the LMB’s Neurobiology Division, discover that the GluA3 AMPAR adopts a structural organization that substantially diverges from all the other AMPA receptors.
Dual biological clocks discovered in intertidal crustaceans
Collaborative study between Michael Hastings’s group in the LMB’s Neurobiology Division and David Wilcockson at Aberystwyth University reveals that crustaceans have two distinct cerebral clocks – one to track days and one for tides – which operate in parallel using overlapping genetic components.
Uncovering the hidden complexity behind the brain’s master clock
Study of body clock proteins led by Nicola Smyllie in Michael Hastings’s group in the LMB’s Neurobiology Division, reveals that PER and CRY, key body clock proteins, act more independently than previously thought, challenging long-held understanding of our body’s circadian rhythms.