LMB In The News

“In a dramatic breakthrough that could affect millions of lives, scientists have been able to show for the first time that the body’s immune defences can destroy the common cold virus after it has actually invaded the inner sanctum of a human cell, a feat that was believed until now to be impossible. The discovery opens the door to the development of a new class of antiviral drugs that work by enhancing this natural virus-killing machinery of the cell. Scientists believe the first clinical trials of new drugs based on the findings could begin within two to five years.” More…

“The immune system has been found to target viruses inside cells, suggesting new strategies against infections including the common cold and winter vomiting bug. They are mankind’s greatest killer and rank among the hardest to treat of all diseases, claiming twice as many lives as cancer. But a discovery could give doctors a new weapon in the battle against viruses, including those that cause widespread illnesses such as the common cold and gastroenteritis. In a report published today, scientists revealed a previously unknown way that the immune system attacks infections, a finding that offers a new approach to treating diseases caused by viruses…” More…

“The Medical Research Council’s new chromosome-shaped lab in Cambridge is an example of how attention to detail and planning can deliver complex buildings on time and to budget …. This attention to detail extends throughout the whole of Power’s domain. He is the construction manager for Bam, which has the contract to build the Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge, commissioned by the Medical Research Council (MRC). A heavy responsibility rests on Power’s shoulders, as client project director David Julian explains: “Quality was even more important than usual as the laboratory is the MRC’s flagship facility. Fourteen Nobel prize winners have come out of LMB and we want to continue that tradition and provide the right environment for them to do it.” Julian also wanted a lab that would be good for 100 years – a long time for such a technical building.” More…

“Scientists were celebrating in Cambridge last night after vital Government funding was spared the chop – and a city laboratory received a cash windfall.
Despite warnings from Business Secretary Vince Cable that funding could be cut in areas which were “neither commercially useful nor theoretically outstanding”, yesterday’s Comprehensive Spending Review revealed that the £4.6 billion science budget will stay the same for the next four years.
The Medical Research Council’s (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge received even better news, when George Osborne announced it was to receive a share of £220 million in funding.” This article is no longer available from the source website: Cambridge News 21 October 2010

“Alexander Gann and Jan Witkowski unveil newly found letters between key players in the DNA story. Strained relationships and vivid personalities leap off the pages… It turns out that this lost correspondence was never thrown out, but became mixed in with Sydney Brenner’s papers. Brenner and Crick shared an office in Cambridge from 1956 to 1977. They moved offices and buildings several times – from the Cavendish Laboratory to the ‘Hut’ to the new Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB), and between offices within the LMB.” More…

“British scientists have developed a new way of joining and rebuilding molecules and used it to refine the anti-wrinkle treatment botox in an effort to improve its use for Parkinson’s, cerebral palsy and chronic migraine. Researchers at the Medical Research Council’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology said their results also open up ways to develop new forms of Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin, commonly known as botox, which may be used as long-term painkillers.” More…