Image365

Day 329 of #LMB365 shows the cryo-EM structure of the human 20S proteasome bound to PA200. This provides significant new information on this important but still poorly studied protein complex located in the nucleus of cells. This structure, by Ana Toste Rêgo and Paula da Fonseca, was determined by the analysis of a sample obtained by the recombinant co-expression of all the complex 15 constitutive subunits together with its 5 dedicated assembly chaperones

Day 328 of #LMB365 shows a view of the illuminated staircase from the LMB’s restaurant. The restaurant is situated on the top floor of the building, as it was in the original LMB building, and the staircase is always busy during the day.

Day 327 of #LMB365 shows Group Leader Kelly Nguyen preparing some cryo-EM grids. A tiny drop of sample is applied to an EM grid inside a “Vitrobot”. After applying the sample, it is incubated at 4°C and 100% humidity to let the grid adsorb the sample without drying out. After incubation, the “Vitrobot” blots most of the sample away, leaving a thin layer of sample, which is then rapidly plunged into liquid ethane for vitrification.

A stormy day over the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and the LMB, captured here for day 326 of #LMB365 by Alexey Murzin. One end of the rainbow is over the new Royal Papworth Hospital.

Day 325 of #LMB365 shows the LMBees being excited by all the new cutting edge techniques presented at the recent Next Generation Biophysics meeting https://www3.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/sites/nextgen/ that brought scientists from academia and industry together to discuss new developments. All the speakers were given their LMBees as a memento of their visit to the LMB. We hope they will all return next year for the next installment

This image for day 324 of #LMB365 shows a cryo-EM visualisation of a G protein-coupled receptor reconstituted into a lipid nanodisc and then coupled to beta-arrestin from Chris Tate’s group in the Structural Studies Division