Magdalene College is deeply saddened to announce the death of Professor Sir John Gurdon FRS, who served as Master of the College from 1995 to 2002.

Alt: kermit the frog is standing in front of a red curtain with his arms outstretched .

A study by British researchers opens up new possibilities for engineering cell mimics as drug delivery systems

London SynBio afterwork talks and networking event on Thursday 25th of September

RNA-cleaving olignucleotide catalysts composed of DNA and/or nucleic acid analogues (DNAzymes, modified DNAzymes and XNAzymes) are promising agents for specific knockdown of disease-associated RNAs. H...

Biological cells use cations as signaling messengers to regulate a variety of responses. Linking cations to the functionality of synthetic membranes is thus crucial to engineering advanced biomimetic agents such as synthetic cells. Here, we introduce bioinspired DNA-based receptors that exploit noncanonical G-quadruplexes for cation-actuated structural and functional responses in synthetic lipid membranes. Membrane confinement grants cation-dependent control over receptor assembly and, when supplemented with hemin cofactors, their peroxidase DNAzyme activity. Cation-mediated control extends to receptor lateral distribution to localize DNA-based catalysis within phase-separated membrane domains of model synthetic cells, imitating the localization of multimeric membrane complexes to signaling hubs in living cells. Our modular strategy paves the way for engineering from the bottom-up cation-responsive pathways for sensing, signaling, and communication in synthetic cellular systems.

The potential of coding RNAs as a general therapeutic modality is limited by their short intracellular lifetime. Here, we investigate the effects of localized post-transcriptional RNA modification on ...