Our favourite influenza A virus strain X31 was spotted on the streets of Bristol, contributing to the congestion. It appears to be protected by an envelope-like outer layer. Like buses in the streets of Bristol, viruses traffic inside the cell too, sometimes hiding inside endosomes, other times as a naked capsid along the cytoskeleton. Traffic in Bristol during certain hours of the day can be slow..., very much like endosome trafficking when microtubules are depolymerised. Th

During May 19th-21st, I attended the ESBOC (European Symposium on Biological and Organic Chemistry) meeting, in Gregynog, Wales, organised by Dek Woolfson of University of Bristol. There were many excellent talks and science on the topic of Chemical Synthetic Biology: Self-assembly, Encapsulation and Delivery; the plenary lecture by Don Hilvert (ETHZ) on supercharged protein containers and the Cedric Hassall lecture by Cheryl Kerfeld (Michigan State) on bacterial microcompart

A quick look at our virus/cell culture laboratory. The room has a blue theme with a gradient from dark blue (flooring) to lighter blue tones towards the ceiling. The three independent light-blocking shades were replaced with a single large light-penetrating blue shade, which adds to the brightness of the lab as well as giving a spacious feel.

Dilem Kofali, a MSc Biomedical Sciences student, started her 3 month project in the lab.