MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
One of the world's leading research institutes, our scientists are working to advance understanding of biological processes at the molecular level - providing the knowledge needed to solve key problems in human health.
Ribosomes, the molecular machines in cells that make proteins, are constructed in a series of discrete steps to create both a large and a small subunit. Release of a key building block, eIF6, from the large 60S subunit allows assembly of the mature active ribosome.
The process of autophagy, in which unnecessary or dysfunctional cellular components are degraded, is important to prevent accumulation of cellular waste and can be triggered by cellular stress.
Formaldehyde, or formalin, is well known to all of us as a common chemical used in many industrial processes and also as a preservative, remarkably we also produce formaldehyde in our bodies. This “endogenous” formaldehyde is ubiquitous, and sufficient amounts might be produced that could damage our cells.
New research by John O’Neill, in the LMB’s Cell Biology Division, and Kenneth Wright, at the University of Colorado, has revealed the mechanism by which caffeine affects the human body clock. The body’s internal clock affects many aspects of human health and disease, such as when we feel sleepy, how we metabolise food, and even when in the day we observe the best athletic and cognitive performance.
The atomic structure of the 170 kDa membrane protein gamma-secretase, a membrane protein complex that has an important role in Alzheimer’s disease, has been solved using single-particle electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) by Sjors Scheres’ group in the LMB’s Structural Studies Division. This demonstrates for the first time that high-resolution reconstruction of such small molecules can be achieved using cryo-EM.
New research from the LMB’s Cell Biology and Structural Studies Divisions has answered a long-standing problem in molecular biology: how does the ribosome decode the signals to stop protein synthesis? In cells, all proteins are produced by ribosomes that ‘read’ messenger RNA (mRNA) one codon, or three nucleotides, at a time. Protein translation terminates when a ribosome reaches one of three nucleotide sequences that encode for stop codons.