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4 Jul 2019: On day 185 of #LMB365, the early morning sunshine casts a reflection of a 1950s ball and spoke model of the alpha-helix peptide chain onto the wall of the library mezzanine. Linus Pauling, of Caltech, beat the MRC Unit in solving this structure and

23 Nov 2019: 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

6 Aug 2019: Emmanuel Derivery’s group in the LMB’s Cell Biology Division uses bacteria to express proteins of interest. They also modify them, in this case making the protein fluorescent pink, as this allows them to easily see the protein in microscopy

3 Aug 2019: Day 215 of #LMB365 is an image of an embryonic day 12 mouse lung, showing the beginning of the extensive branching morphogenesis that will eventually form the adult mouse lung. The tubes of the forming lung are shown in green, and the surrounding

8 Dec 2019: Day 342 of #LMB365 shows PhD student, Elyse Fischer, loading her sample into the column of one of the LMB’s FEI Titan Krios microscopes. Protein samples frozen on grids in amorphous ice are placed inside a nanocap. Upon insertion of the nanocap, a

27 Oct 2019: CryoEM structures determined by Yorgo Modis’ group show how the innate immune sensor MDA5 recognizes viral RNA by forming filaments. ATP hydrolysis is coupled to structural changes in the filament, which are proposed to promote discrimination

1 Mar 2019: Patterns and shapes in everyday objects can be seen on day 61 of #LMB365 which is a photo of some of the R8 milling collets in the LMB's Technical Instrumentation Workshop. These hold milling cutters concentric to the spindle in a very tight grip.

9 Apr 2019: Neurons (brain cells) communicate by passing electrical signals to each other across connections called synapses. By simulating the activity of individual synapses on a neuron, seen as deflections in this image for day 100 of #LMB365, Jake Watson in

17 Dec 2019: The LMB has held a charity Christmas raffle every year since the 1970’s and has raised many thousands of pounds over the decades. Day 351 of #LMB365 is a photo of the LMB's raffle drum, built by Bill Parkinson from the Maintenance Department in

12 Jan 2019: When DNA is damaged this can cause mutation, which drives cancer. Luckily our cells have repair mechanisms that can fix damage to protect the cell. Day 12 of #LMB365 shows towers of plates containing cells being used by KJ Patel's group in PNAC to

13 Nov 2019: This image provided by David Barford for day 317 of #LMB365 shows the cryo-EM structure of the anaphase-promoting complex (APC/C) (surface representation) bound to its inhibitor, the mitotic checkpoint complex (MCC) (ribbons representation). The MCC

7 Nov 2019: The photo for day 311 of #LMB365 shows the north wing of the building where members of the Neurobiology Division are working hard. When people leave the building, detectors in the offices and write-up areas identify that staff have left for the day

21 Mar 2019: This image for day 81 of #LMB365 is from Yara Sanchez-Corrales in Katja Röper’s group in the Cell Biology Division. It is of a Drosophila melanogaster embryo showing apical membrane in the whole embryo (green). The 3D cell shape of some cells can

27 Mar 2019: This image for day 87 of #LMB365 shows a small portion of a neuron (brain cell). The spines coating the dendritic projections are the sites of synapses, through which the cell communicates with other neurons. The work in Ingo Greger’s group in the

26 Apr 2019: 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

22 Jun 2019: Day 173 of #LMB365 is a light microscopy image from Wanda Kukulski in Cell Biology of yeast cells producing a fluorescent version of a protein that assembles into patches on the cell membrane. Each patch contains hundreds of copies of the protein.

14 Feb 2019: The DNA cycle path in Cambridge, which starts near the LMB, depicts the sequence of the BRCA2 gene, which is involved in some forms of breast cancer. In the lab, we use CRISPR to cause targeted errors in specific genes to study their function. We

29 Sep 2019: The two amoebae shown here on day 272 of #LMB365 are drinking their surrounding medium by macropinocytosis and contain two different fluorescent proteins, one marking their actin ‘muscles’ and the other a membrane signal (PIP3) that guides where

8 Sep 2019: Day 251 of #LMB365 shows odour delivery manifolds built by the LMB’s Technical Instrumentation Workshop for Shahar Frechter in Greg Jefferis’ lab. The system was developed to synchronise odour selection for the study of neural circuits and

17 Aug 2019: Day 229 of #LMB365 shows a member of staff taking advantage of Wellness Wednesday at the LMB with a non-subsidized seated massage treatment. This uses a combination of massage and acupressure techniques to the back, neck, shoulders, arms, hands and

10 Jun 2019: Happy Hour is one of the LMB’s regular social events where people can meet, chat, have a couple of drinks, discuss their work or organise their weekend’s activities. Happy Hour has been going for around 10 years and this photo for day 162 of

15 Jan 2019: Day 15 of #LMB365 is a very satisfying photo from Andrew Carter's group @Carter_Lab in Structural Studies. In order to achieve this the tubes have been spun at very high speeds resulting in a beautiful pattern of the inner contents of cells layered

9 Aug 2019: This shot of one of the LMB’s plant towers for day 221 of #LMB365 was taken by Pablo Rodriguez. It shows the light of the setting sun reflected in the stainless steel façade. The faint large square that you can see in the middle of the tower

25 Jul 2019: Day 206 of #LMB365 features Russell Ableman from Lab Services before he starts his daily round topping up the liquid nitrogen Dewars around the LMB. This ensures that supplies are maintained to the cell storage banks and specialist equipment in the

16 Nov 2019: On day 320 of #LMB365 we have a picture by Katja Röper in the Cell Biology Division. This image shows a confocal image of the forming tube of the salivary glands in a Drosophila embryo, a model system for the formation of tubular organs. Tube cells

22 Apr 2019: The external mounds around the LMB were originally planted with 20 different wild flora species to produce a grassland meadow mixture. The original planting mixture has now been taken over by species from the surrounding area and the variety of

3 Jan 2019: Day 3 of #LMB365 we bring you an image of the multicellular organism Caenorhabditis elegans provided by Soudabeh Imanikia @Simanikia in the Neurobiology Division. With fewer than 1000 cells and a transparent body, it is possible to follow the entire

10 Jan 2019: Day 10 of #LMB365 is an image taken from the LMB rooftop terrace which has spectacular views over the Cambridge Biomedical Campus @CamBioCampus. On what was a cold and bright day @BediRecolin captured a bright moon as a teeny tiny white ball

29 Jan 2019: Day 29 of #LMB365 is a black and white photo of one of the LMB's service towers that make up the iconic architecture of the LMB building on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. This photo was the winner of the 2018 LMB Image Competition and is now

12 Oct 2019: The production of purified macromolecular samples can be very challenging. Subsequently it is hard to schedule exactly when the final sample preparation will be obtained. Samples produced at the LMB can be screened anytime for crystallisation

5 Aug 2019: This image for day 217 of #LMB365 shows one of the racks of zebrafish tanks found in the aquatics facility within the University occupied space at the LMB. Each 1.5 litre tank can hold up to 25 fish fry up to 30 days of age and the racks are

23 Jul 2019: This image for day 204 of #LMB365 is made with micropatterning, the process whereby any protein, in this case a fluorescent protein, can be printed onto a glass coverslip. Each logo in this image is about 100 micrometres across. Emmanuel

21 Jul 2019: When viewed as a whole, the LMB building is impressive. Just as dramatic though are the glimpses seen as you enter/exit the building on a daily basis. This view for day 202 of #LMB365 captures the reflection of one of the towers in the glass-clad

16 Jul 2019: On day 197 of #LMB365 we have a picture by Katja Röper in the Cell Biology Division. This image shows a confocal section of the primordium of the salivary glands in a Drosophila embryo, a model system for the formation of tubular organs. The Röper

31 Jul 2019: Day 212 of #LMB365 shows managers of some of the LMB's Operations Group teams hard at work in a risk assessment workshop delivered by the LMB's Health & Safety team. The LMB has an in-house H&S team and they work with all staff to provide advice a

24 Jan 2019: Day 24 of #LMB365 by Leo Hillier @LeoHillier shows window light reflected in the steel of the plant towers. There was initially concern about the shiny towers, so a 20 foot high section was dangled from a crane and viewed from nearby hills to see

25 Feb 2019: The photo for day 57 of #LMB365 is of the LMB's openSPIM light sheet microscope. This is run by the LMB's Light Microscopy Facility and has 4 different laser lines (488 nm and 640 nm pictured), dual sided illumination and temperature control it

6 Sep 2019: Day 249 of #LMB365 shows animage taken by a pupil at St Paul's Primary School for the LMB’s 2019 Science Image Award competition https://www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/microscopes4schools/award.php. 16 primary schools from across Cambridgeshire and Essex

25 May 2019: Day 146 of #LMB365 is a photo taken in the middle of the night while using one of the £4million Titan Krios microscopes to determine the structure of protein complexes. Often the days get fairly long, including setting the microscopes up, but the

29 Jun 2019: This image for day 180 of #LMB365 was taken by Ilaria Chiaradia in the Cell Biology Division when she was on a confocal microscopy training session. It shows atypical mitosis in a HeLa cell which is characterised by double the number of centrosomes

26 Jun 2019: Strike a pose, be it mountain, tree or downward facing dog, the benefits of yoga in the workplace are well documented for counteracting the long hours spent at a work station. Staff at the LMB seen here on day 177 of #LMB365 execute a

14 Mar 2019: Day 74 of #LMB365 is of some hand-painted Russian dolls attempting bench work. They were a gift from Evgeny Zatulovskiy to Rob Kay upon his retirement. Evgeny was a PhD student with Rob on a Herchel Smith Fellowship and is currently a postdoc in San

5 Apr 2019: Jim Watson was born on this day in 1928. He joined the MRC Unit in Cambridge in 1951, where he met and began working with Francis Crick. He was just 25 when together they revealed the structure of DNA, for which they were awarded the 1962

22 Jul 2019: Day 203 of #LMB365 from Kevin Takaki in Lalita Ramakrishnan’s group shows macrophages attacking and encasing a parasite schistosoma egg within a larval zebrafish. Schistosoma, known as blood flukes, are parasitic flatworms responsible for a

23 Dec 2019: Science is all about success as well as failure and many experiments don’t work. Dealing with failure in a constructive way is a vital skill that scientists develop throughout their career. On day 357 of #LMB365, a postdoc lost his purified

12 Dec 2019: CryoEM structures determined by the Modis group show how the innate immune sensor MDA5 recognizes viral RNA by forming filaments. ATP hydrolysis is coupled to structural changes in the filament, which are proposed to promote discrimination between

13 Apr 2019: Day 104 of #LMB365 shows Greg Winter at the entrance to the LMB. Greg was born on this day in 1951. He studied for his PhD at the LMB and after postdoctoral research, returned here as a Programme Leader in 1981. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for

16 Aug 2019: Day 228 of #LMB365 was provided by Rosemary Keeble in Lalita Ramakrishnan’s group. They use zebrafish as a model organism to study human diseases such as tuberculosis. It is important to ensure the welfare of the fish and bacteria-free egg water

27 Jul 2019: Day 208 of #LMB365 shows a collage of yeast cells expressing a fluorescently tagged protein which is usually located in the endoplasmic reticulum. Liz Miller’s group deletes individual genes from the yeast genome to see how the fluorescently

24 Jul 2019: Metalwork and services everywhere! This photo for day 205 of #LMB365 is a view from the energy centre boiler house down into the basement plant room. There are various pipes carrying different types of water services over to the main building. Right