Inlay

Please keep in mind: 2 cups per day ☕️☕️

GBM (Gesellschaft für Biochemie und Molekularbiologie)

To kickstart this new Bluesky account: We're hiring! The Bertolin Lab @dundee.ac.uk is looking for a postdoc to work on DNA-end homeostasis & genome stability, funded by Wellcome Trust Award. Exciting science, fantastic environment, founding role in the lab. Details in the flyer — get in touch! 👇

We're looking for a new Roving Research @mrc-lms.bsky.social A unique post for those who love research, learning new techniques & working across different teams. Must be a great communicator & well organised! Apply by 21 June: fa-evzn-saasfaukgovprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

Congratulations to Dr Tianyi Zhang and Dr Layara [email protected], who are recipients of Career Development Awards from Wellcome Trust. www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2026/su...

“I think it’s a real mistake to forget where the pipeline for all this begins.” John Diffley reflects on the importance of basic research, his mission to decode DNA replication and recreate it in the lab, and the scientific optimism of the 1960s that helped shape it. www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-03...

Preprint alert!!📑 We're happy to share a new preprint from our associated member, Dr Maximilian Reuter (@reuterlm.bsky.social), on "Mechanisms of MCM2-7 helicase activation and initial DNA melting at near base-pair resolution" 🔎Read more here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Investigator Scientist (Roving Researcher) (LMS 2369) Salary £42,159 – 44,801 plus London Allowance (£5,560) per annum | 2 years fixed term | Full time | Closing Date: 21 June

fa-evzn-saasfaukgovprod1.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com

Researchers at the University of Birmingham have been successful in the most recent round of the Wellcome Career Development Awards.

www.birmingham.ac.uk

During eukaryotic DNA replication initiation, inactive MCM2-7 double-hexamers assembled at replication origins must be converted into two active CMG helicases, yet how this transition is coupled to origin DNA unwinding in vivo remains unclear. Here, we identify a DNA-bound intermediate with an extended genomic footprint that forms during helicase activation. Genome-wide mapping of initial strand separation reveals that DNA unwinding initiates near the N-terminal interface of opposing MCM2-7 hexamers. At these sites, the origin DNA exhibits a conserved AT-rich/GC-rich/AT-rich sequence architecture on which the helicase complex is centred, consistent with a role in promoting DNA extrusion following double-hexamer separation. We further show that restricting hexamer rotation and splitting delays release of the Cdc45-loading factor Sld3, demonstrating that mechanical transitions during helicase activation are tightly coupled to complex disassembly. Finally, we provide in vivo evidence that single-stranded DNA is ejected through a specialised DNA exit gate at the Mcm2/5 interface during helicase activation, which is dispensable for ongoing DNA synthesis. Together, these findings establish a mechanistic framework for how replication origins are remodelled to initiate DNA replication and reveal key intermediates and DNA transactions during helicase activation. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, https://ror.org/018mejw64, ZA 153/28-1, 393547839 - SFB1361, 505087959 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, EP/N509486/1 European Commission, 101109916 Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, BB/N000323/1, BB/S001387/1 Medical Research Council, MC_U120085811 Wellcome Trust, 107903/Z/15/Z

Coffee and improved cognition, reduced dementia >130,000 people followed 37 years Benefit seen only with caffeinated coffee or tea and most pronounced ~2 cups/day @jama.com ☕️☕️https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2844764

The Francis Crick Institute

Do you work in DNA replication, genome maintenance, chromosome organisation, chromatin maintenance, or a related field? 🧬 Join us for #EESReplication – submissions are welcome from researchers at all career stages! 20 – 23 October 2026 Send your abstract by 28 July: s.embl.org/ees26-13-bl

New preprint🎉 Happy to share our collaborative manuscript, where we provide in vivo and genome-wide evidence linking MCM2-7 helicase activation, DNA extrusion to initial origin melting, thereby adding a new mechanistic layer to how eukaryotic DNA replication is initiated. 👉 doi.org/10.64898/202...