The bringing together of several independent lines of research by members of the LMB’s Structural Studies Division has led to the determination of the atomic structure of the yeast mitochondrial ribosome. The work took advantage of recent developments in electron microscopy (EM), brought about by a decade of work at the LMB to develop better […]
Insight on Research
Coupling of transcription termination and mRNA processing
Work carried out by Lori Passmore’s group in the LMB’s Structural Studies Division, in collaboration with Patrick Cramer’s group in Munich, has revealed how transcription termination and mRNA processing by Cleavage and Polyadenylation Factor (CPF) are coupled via dephosphorylation of the C-terminal domain of RNA Polymerase II by CPF. Genes code for proteins – the […]
A switch in the brain
Research from Greg Jefferis’s group in the LMB’s Neurobiology Division has uncovered a biological switch that determines which part of the fruit fly’s brain responds to pheromones, depending on whether the fruit fly is male or female. Previous studies have identified differences in brain structure between the sexes but this study, published in Cell, is […]
Exploiting the power of evolution to create designer proteins
Research led by Professor Nick Brindle at the University of Leicester and Julian Sale from the LMB’s PNAC Division has resulted in the production of a molecule that has great therapeutic potential in the treatment of inflammatory conditions. Much of the work took place while Nick was on sabbatical at the LMB and involved additional […]
LMB researchers one step closer to the ‘RNA world’
New research from Philipp Holliger’s group in the LMB’s PNAC Division demonstrates the power RNA could have wielded to enable the first forms of life on Earth to reproduce and thrive. At its most basic level, all life can be viewed as a mechanism for self-replication: organisms reproduce by making new copies of themselves and […]
Discovery of the genetic basis of a rare immune disease
Work led by Sergey Nejentsev and Alison Condliffe from the University of Cambridge, in collaboration with Roger Williams’ group in the LMB’s PNAC Division and Klaus Okkenhaug’s group at the Babraham Institute has discovered a rare genetic disease which predisposes patients to severe respiratory infections and lung damage. They have also identified how the genetic […]