Kaleidoscope of Life

What look like stained glass windows are actually crystals of lysozyme – a protein found in tears, saliva and egg whites – photographed under polarised light.

Each panel reveals how light bends differently through the crystal’s precise geometric structure, producing kaleidoscopic colours. These crystals are invisible to the naked eye, yet mapping their precise atomic structure gives scientists the power to design molecules with extraordinary accuracy.

Our researchers are using this structural knowledge to refine CAR T cell therapy, a blood cancer treatment that reprograms immune cells to attack cancer cells again. By engineering the molecular links that carry signals within these cells, researchers can fine-tune the strength of the immune response.

Structural precision at this scale could make treatments more effective and accessible to more patients.

• Coco Clemens