#LMBResearch
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mrclmb.ac.uk
Chris Russo and Anastasiia Gusach have developed a new method to prepare #cryoEM samples that avoids protein damage during freezing

Read more: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/a-new-method...

#LMBResearch
October 22, 2025 at 4:41 PM
mrclmb.ac.uk
How did life arise from simple chemical building blocks?

New #LMBResearch led by @edogia.bsky.social in @philholliger.bsky.social group has identified a small self-replicating ribozyme that could be the answer.

Read more: mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...
February 13, 2026 at 10:20 AM
mrclmb.ac.uk
The complete #connectome of the adult Drosophila male CNS has allowed researchers, inc @jefferis.bsky.social’s group, to compare male & female brains at synaptic-resolution for the first time.

Read more here: mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...

#LMBResearch 1/2
September 3, 2026 at 3:07 PM
mrclmb.ac.uk
Led by Investigator Scientist @hongmiaohu.bsky.social, @kellythd-nguyen.bsky.social’s group in the LMB’s Structural Studies Division have produced the first ever structure of telomerase from yeast.
Read more here: mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...
#LMBResearch #cryoEM 🧪
March 26, 2026 at 6:05 PM
mrclmb.ac.uk
Providing order amongst constant traffic: #LMBResearch from Sean Munro (@cellbiol-mrclmb.bsky.social) with John Briggs (@mpibiochem.bsky.social) reveals how GOLPH3 allows COPI vesicles to distinguish between Golgi residents & ER-bound proteins.
Read more: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/protein-sort...
October 6, 2025 at 8:07 AM
mrclmb.ac.uk
Using advanced microscopy @piotrkolata.bsky.social @a-dsantos.bsky.social @tomdendooven.bsky.social @matteoall.bsky.social have identified the molecular anatomy & organisation of proteasomes in the sperm nucleus.
Read more about the study here: mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...
#LMBResearch 🧪
September 1, 2026 at 9:28 AM
mrclmb.ac.uk
Huping Wang and Manu Hegde, in @cellbiol-mrclmb.bsky.social have found a factor that accelerates protein deliveries to the endoplasmic reticulum

Click here to read more about it: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/discovery-of...

#LMBResearch
Model depicting the early steps during production of a membrane protein
November 29, 2024 at 9:43 AM
mrclmb.ac.uk
How do SMC complexes capture DNA? 🧪

Led by Frank Bürmann, Jan Löwe’s & Mark Dillingham’s groups have identified the directional loading mechanism the bacterial SMC complex MukBEF uses to capture & ingest DNA, & found a phage inhibitor to this pathway.

Read more: tinyurl.com/4s8nrrkk

#LMBResearch
Schematic illustrating the structural changes undergone by MukBEF SMC complex during DNA capture and ingestion.
March 31, 2025 at 2:40 PM
mrclmb.ac.uk
How do cells remove abnormal glycogen?
Led by Matthew Yip, using mouse models, cell engineering & cryo-ET, Felix Randow's group found that RNF213 ubiquitylates aberrant glycogen to trigger autophagy.
https://mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/articles/how-cells-clear-dysfunctional-glycogen/
#LMBResearch
September 16, 2026 at 8:46 AM
mrclmb.ac.uk
A colder frontier in cryo-EM 🧪🔬

Chris Russo’s group, inc. Joshua Dickerson, adapted #cryoEM to work at liquid helium temperatures (13 kelvins), where every frame captured contains more information than the equivalent using liquid nitrogen (81 kelvins).

Read more: tinyurl.com/mwwcunkc

#LMBResearch
The electron cryo-microscope adapted for use at liquid nitrogen temperatures within its custom-made black box.
April 23, 2025 at 8:49 AM
mrclmb.ac.uk
Led by Hannah Ochner, @tbharat-lab.bsky.social’s group have developed correlated #cryoEM & mass spectrometry imaging, capable of sub-cellular chemical mapping.
With @kiranrpatil.bsky.social’s group, they have imaged the cellular uptake of forever chemicals.
mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...
#LMBResearch
Diagram showing cryo-FIB-SIMS technique
May 26, 2026 at 9:15 AM
mrclmb.ac.uk
How does neurodegeneration spread across the brain? 🧠

@sjorsscheres.bsky.social, Michel Goedert & Masata Hasegawa’s groups have demonstrated that human misfolded tau filaments act as a molecular template for prion-like propagation in the mouse brain.

mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...

#LMBResearch 🧪
Alzheimer's and corticobasal degeneration tau filaments induce distinct pathologies in mouse brains, with corresponding cryo-EM images and structural models.
September 30, 2026 at 3:25 PM
mrclmb.ac.uk
A multidisciplinary study from @igreger.bsky.social’s group in the LMB’s Neurobiology Division details the rich diversity of GluA4 AMPA receptors in the cerebellum.
Read more here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/distinct-amp...
#LMBResearch
December 12, 2025 at 9:37 AM
mrclmb.ac.uk
Benjamin Ryskeldi-Falcon’s @brfalcon.bsky.social group in the LMB’s Neurobiology Division, with Karen Duff's group at the UK DRI, have discovered that tau filaments are tethered to the membranes of extracellular vesicles in #Alzheimers

Read more: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/cryo-et-reve...
#LMBResearch
Cryo-Et image of a brain extracellular vesicle
November 26, 2024 at 3:54 PM
mrclmb.ac.uk
Sebastian Balch, Zala Sekne & Elsa Franco-Echevarría in @kellythd-nguyen.bsky.social's group have confirmed the existence of dimeric telomerase and illustrated how it is key to telomere maintenance:
www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/first-struct...

#LMBResearch @yiliangding.bsky.social @rdaslab.bsky.social 🧪
Structure of telomerase dimer with key catalytic codes and H/ACA RNPs highlighted with schematic illustrating how dimer disruption leads to shortened telomeres and disease mutations of the dimers causes premature ageing diseases
July 11, 2025 at 8:41 AM
mrclmb.ac.uk
Uncovering the hidden complexity behind the brain’s master clock.
New research led by @nsmyllie.bsky.social, in Michael Hastings’s group, reveals that body clock proteins PER2 & CRY1 act more independently than previously thought:
www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/uncovering-t...
#LMBResearch 🧪 🕙 🧠
Artistic representation of the complex dynamics exhibited by “clock proteins” within the brain.
April 25, 2025 at 10:44 AM
mrclmb.ac.uk
In brain development, timing is everything.
@sebastiancachero.bsky.social @erikadona.bsky.social & @jefferis.bsky.social have mapped 450,000+ cells from developing fly nervous systems to build an expansive atlas, revealing how neurons 'remember' when they were born.

shorturl.at/tfI4s

#LMBResearch🧪
Heatmap shows temporal expression of 17 transcription factors across neuron birth orders, with a UMAP plot visualising cell identity relationships.
July 22, 2026 at 3:19 PM
mrclmb.ac.uk
Magdalena Sutcliffe, @lancasterlab.bsky.social & @stefanschoenfelder.bsky.social demonstrate how epigenetic ‘memory’ shapes stem cell potential, but a chemical reset can restore differentiation ability.
Read more: shorturl.at/PZ4tV
#LMBResearch @cellbiol-mrclmb.bsky.social @babrahaminst.bsky.social🧪
Human pluripotent stem cells favour either anterior or posterior formation, but this can be mediated by chromatin restoration (CHR) treatment. Fluorescent micrograph of an organoid with intricate folds and patterns in blue and purple
August 7, 2026 at 10:59 AM
mrclmb.ac.uk
How do primordial germ cells (PGCs) migrate across a developing embryo?

#LMBResearch from Katharine Goodwin and Kate McDole (@cellbiol-mrclmb.bsky.social) uncovers the mechanisms PGCs use in mouse embryos to navigate this long and surprisingly risky journey.

Read more: mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...
Microscopic view of a glowing, irregularly shaped primordial germ cell with long protrusions with purple and green fluorescence against a dark blue background.
March 18, 2026 at 6:14 PM
mrclmb.ac.uk
This was a large project, requiring mapping 166700+ neurons, involving a large, international team, including @janelia-flyem.bsky.social Google Research @camzoology.bsky.social with @beckett14.bsky.social Philipp Schlegel @stuartberg.bsky.social @mmcosta.bsky.social & many others.

#LMBResearch 2/2
Complete connectome of the adult male fly central nervous system
September 3, 2026 at 3:09 PM
mrclmb.ac.uk
New research on ancient Asgard archaeal ESCRT-III proteins reveals evolutionary secrets of membrane remodelling.
Diorge Souza, Javier Espadas and Sami Chaaban, investigated the ESCRT-III proteins with Buzz Baum and Aurelien Roux.
Read more: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/asgard-archa...
#LMBResearch (1/2)
Evolution, structure and membrane remodelling function of the ESCRT-III superfamily in eukaryotes and their closest relatives Asgard archaea. The two subfamilies, B-type and A-type, have distinct structural properties to perform sequential steps of the membrane remodelling pathway.
February 11, 2025 at 12:46 PM
mrclmb.ac.uk
How did life on Earth begin? 🌍🧬
New #LMBResearch from Phil Holliger’s group, including James Attwater (now @uclchemistry.bsky.social‬‬ @uclnews.bsky.social) shows how pH-freeze-thaw cycles enables RNA self-replication, overcoming a key evolutionary hurdle.‬
Read more: www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/ma...
Chemists recreate how RNA might have reproduced for first time
Chemists at UCL and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology have demonstrated how RNA (ribonucleic acid) might have replicated itself on early Earth – a key process in the origin of life.
www.ucl.ac.uk
May 29, 2025 at 8:40 AM
mrclmb.ac.uk
Thousands of possible receptor-peptide combinations. One AI-powered solution.

Led by @lariferg.bsky.social, a study from @schaferlab.bsky.social & Isabel Beets has developed DeorphaNN, a neural network to identify peptide pairings for GPCRs.

Read more: mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...

#LMBResearch
Protein structure prediction confidence for a specific region is improved when an active-state template is used.
July 24, 2026 at 9:21 AM
mrclmb.ac.uk
Leo James’ group, in the LMB’s PNAC Division, have characterised the defensive pathway TRIM21 uses to degrade a diverse range of pathogens, naming the mechanism antibody-directed xenophagy (ADX).

Read more about ADX & its potential for new therapies here: mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...

#LMBResearch
Super-resolution image of an LC3-positive autophagosome engulfing a TRIM21- and antibody-coated adenovirus.
June 4, 2026 at 3:18 PM
mrclmb.ac.uk
🧠🦠 How can infection in the gut affect the brain?

Menna Clatworthy’s group in the University of Cambridge’s Molecular Immunity Unit at the LMB have identified an immune link between the gut & the brain that protects the brain from future infection.

Read: mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...

#LMBResearch
Fluorescent image of cells
September 8, 2026 at 9:18 AM