• Biobox is freely available, Python based software developed by a team led by Dr Matteo Degiacomi (Durham Physics) at Durham University. This new tool handles numerous complex pre-processing and molecular structure manipulation tasks, allowing the development of new biomolecular modelling methods. Find out more here.

• Investigation of the structure-function relationship in two key retinoic acid binding proteins has given insights into the mechanism of action of this important class of proteins. The work of the multidisciplinary team led by Professor Ehmke Pohl (Durham Biosciences and Chemistry) has provided new details about retinoic acid signalling pathways that are implicated in several cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. Find out more here.

• Professor Tim Blower (Durham Biosciences) and a team of international collegues have reported the first structure of an anti-CRISPR associated protein Aca2. These proteins are synthesised by bacteriophages and other attacking species to counter the CRISPR-Cas defences mounted by bacteria to halt the attacking species. CRISPR proteins are widely used in bioengineering and the discovery of new anti-CRSPR associated proteins would be an important step in the development of more refined CRSPR techniques. Find out more here.

Multi-layered bacterial genome defences 

The £4.6M project Multi-layered bacterial genome defences: linking molecular mechanisms to bacteria-MGE conflicts in single cells, populations, and communities was launched in 2022. Durham Biosciences's Professor Tim Blower is the Durham lead for the project which uses new interdisciplinary approaches and techniques to uncover bacterial defence systems. These systems could be exploited to tackle the spread of drug-resistant genes through the use of phages (viruses that infect bacteria). The project is led by Professor Edze Westra at University of Exeter, and includes researchers from the Universities of Durham, Manchester, Bath, Bristol, Liverpool and St Andrews.

Virus-X Consortium

As part of the EU funded Virus-X project Professor Ehmke Pohl (Durham Biosciences and Chemistry) has been exploring the strange world of viruses, also known as the Virosphere. Researchers in the Virus-X team have probed extreme environments, hunting for previously undiscovered viruses, including volcanic hot springs in Iceland (image right) and deep sea vents in the Atlantic Ocean more than 2300 m below sea level. 50 million new genes from extreme habitats have been found, and close to 1000 enzymes were selected for further characterisation. Several of these enzymes are currently being tested for use in applications ranging from protein production to the detection of pathogenic viruses such as SARS-CoV-2.