Practically all brain functions are controlled through a finely tuned balance of neuronal excitation and inhibition. The main inhibitory neurotransmitter in vertebrates is gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). GABA signals through two types of cell surface receptors: GABAA and GABAB, with GABAA receptors mediating millisecond-fast neurotransmission and GABAB receptors mediating slower signalling events.
Structures of the human GABAA receptor reveal how it functions and could help improve key drugs
Catching enzymes in the act of making an antibiotic
Making a cell-based factory for polymer synthesis
Researchers in Jason Chin’s group in the LMB’s PNAC Division have for the first time engineered and optimised a ‘stapled’ ribosome that can act as a cell-based factory for synthetic protein polymer synthesis.
We are familiar with polymers in everyday life, from nylon to kevlar and plastics. Polymers are composed of chemical compounds strung together like beads in a necklace.
A new tool using genetic code expansion to study circadian rhythms
Circadian rhythms dominate our lives through our daily cycle of sleep and wakefulness. These rhythms are controlled by a master clock in the brain: the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Studying neuronal cell biology and how the SCN drives behaviour in humans and all animals has been made easier by the development of tools that allow rapid, reversible, and conditional control of these systems.
How replication of DNA is initiated at origins
We each replicate billions of metres of DNA every hour in our dividing cells and it is important that this DNA is replicated accurately. This requires a complex set of machinery called the replisome to unwind the paired strands of DNA allowing different polymerase enzymes to produce new copies. DNA replication is further complicated by the antiparallel structure of DNA: the two strands run in opposite directions alongside one another, and DNA polymerases can only function in one direction.
New insight into how membrane proteins are made
The human genome encodes thousands of proteins that are embedded in the membranes of all cells. These membrane proteins have numerous functions ranging from ion transport, to cell communication, to sensing odours, and others. In order to carry out these functions, they must be precisely oriented, folded, and assembled correctly.