The small soil worm C. elegans is used by Mario de Bono’s group in the Cell Biology Division to study proteins that control behaviour. To extract these proteins, worms are frozen into balls by dropping them into liquid nitrogen and then ground into a fine powder. Day 118 of #LMB365 is a photo of some frozen “worm balls” containing over 1 million frozen worms.
LMB 365 – Day 118
LMB 365 – Day 117
Most steps of X-ray crystallography are enabled with safe and straightforward automated protocols. This is particularly true for screening protein crystallisation conditions. On day 117 of #LMB365 a young visitor (Julia, aged 6) was desperate to try our equipment, although she expected to reveal the mythical powers of the crystals rather than solving their structure.
LMB 365 – Day 116
This image for day 116 of #LMB365 is a dish of negatively stained grids, discarded after use in the general-use Spirit, which is a 120 kV transmission electron microscope (TEM). Samples are applied to the grid, then surrounded by heavy metal stain that blocks the electrons, thereby enhancing contrast.
How eating feeds into the body clock
We are regularly reminded that a balanced diet is key to staying healthy and preventing disease. What is less well known is that the time at which we eat may also be an essential to long-term health. Central to this are circadian rhythms – commonly referred to as ‘body clocks’. These are endogenous daily rhythms that […]
Julian Rayner is appointed the new Director of the Cambridge Institute of Medical Research
Julian Rayner, a former PhD student in Hugh Pelham’s group in the LMB’s Cell Biology Division, will become the fourth Director of the Cambridge Institute of Medical Research. More…
LMB 365 – Day 115
On this day in 1953 the landmark paper proposing the structure of DNA was published in the journal Nature. ‘We wish to suggest a structure for the salt of deoxyribose nucleic acid (D.N.A.). This structure has novel features which are of considerable biological interest.’ Day 115 of #LMB365 shows a reproduction of the original DNA model, which can be seen in the foyer of the LMB building