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Explore a selection of research case studies from the past five years.

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Researchers at the Crick are tackling the big questions about human health and disease, and new findings are published every week.

Our faculty have picked some of the most significant papers published by Crick scientists, all of which are freely available thanks to our open science policy.

Structure of V1H

Researchers discover how cells raise the alarm when damaged or infected

Our cells need acidic compartments for digestion and recycling of nutrients. Acid is pumped in by a complex assembly of proteins called the V-ATPase. But what happens when our cells get damaged? The acid leaks out and the cell has to respond. Researchers at the Crick discovered how the V-ATPase proton pump itself sounds the alarm: one protein in the complex recruits a crucial part of the self-eating (autophagy) machinery. They think this is especially important during infection since some bacteria target this pathway, and many viruses like influenza trigger it.

The V-ATPase/ATG16L1 axis is controlled by the V1H subunit

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Published in Molecular Cell

Published

Cell division in high resolution

Researchers in the Costa and Diffley labs have used high resolution cryo-electron microscopy techniques to observe replicative helicase activation following loading onto DNA. As a prelude to cell division, the genome must be duplicated, and replicative helicases play a fundamental part in this, unwinding DNA and exposing the single-stranded template for the replicative polymerases. The team characterised the role of the key enzymes involved in selectively activating the replicative helicases at the right time and in the right places on DNA, an important step forward in understanding exactly how DNA replication works in both health and disease.

Structural mechanism for the selective phosphorylation of DNA-loaded MCM double hexamers by the Dbf4-dependent kinase

Published in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology

Published

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Research case studies 

Explore a selection of recent case studies that spotlight particular areas of research at the Crick.