News

Images show non random distribution of nuclear pores in several tissues from Cheng J et al 2021

16.12.21 Single-molecule localization microscopy reveals clustering of nuclear pores in several different Drosophila tissues

18 January 2022

The St Johnston lab’s single-molecule localisation microscopy method for imaging tissues has revealed that nuclear pores are not evenly distributed in the nuclear envelopes of most Drosophila tissues, as they are in tissue culture cells. A single-molecule localization microscopy method for tissues reveals nonrandom nuclear...

Diagram of ARC-C method by Ahringer lab from Huang N et al 2021

21.12.21 New ability to study genome topology and regulatory interactions at high resolution with Ahringer lab’s ARC-C method

17 January 2022

The Ahringer lab present Accessible Region Conformation Capture (ARC-C), a method they have developed that profiles interactions between regulatory elements at high resolution in a single genome-wide assay. Applied to C. elegans , ARC-C revealed unappreciated domain and compartment structure and proteins that are...

16.12.20 High-risk project in Jackson lab wins ASPIRE funding from the Mark Foundation

16 December 2021

Steve Jackson is among the awardees of the 2021 ASPIRE (Accelerating Scientific Platforms and Innovative Research) programme, funded by The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research. The awards are designed to enable innovative approaches to solving high-impact problems in cancer research that tend to fall outside the scope of...

Fig 6A from Leger et al shows results of mapping methylated adenosines on a specific RNA molecule called 7SK

10.12.21 Kouzarides lab and collaborators plot RNA modifications using analysis of Nanopore direct sequencing data

13 December 2021

Post-transcriptional modifications are known to influence the fundamental properties and functions of RNAs, with impacts on development, health and disease. The Kouzarides lab has developed an analysis system based on direct RNA sequencing data from Nanopore, using an approach that compares experimental with unmodified RNA...

Diagram of factors involved in oocyte polarisation (wide version)

01.12.21 Asymmetric myosin activation polarises the Drosophila oocyte anterior-posterior axis

29 November 2021

Correct body plan formation in Drosophila depends on the establishment of two axes of polarity in the developing oocyte. A new study by Doerflinger et al . of the St Johnston lab shows that the antero-posterior axis requires the activation of Myosin II at the posterior of the oocyte, suggesting that cortical tension may...

Diagram of fruit fly and genetic material in study of human adiposity

08.11.21 Fat flies - a slimmed down model of human obesity

15 November 2021

Fruit flies can be used as a novel predictive screening tool for human genetics, says a new study led by the Brand lab’s Neha Agrawal and Catherine Davidson, in collaboration with Sadaf Farooqi. By combining human genetics with genetic screening techniques in fruit flies, the team identified a novel role for the Hippo...

Nashchekin et al 2021 Figure 4 Diagram of cyst polarisation

11.11.21 St Johnston lab show that Patronin/CAMSAP marks the future Drosophila oocyte and is required for oocyte specification

10 November 2021

Oocyte identity is established inside a cyst of interconnected germ cells but how this occurs is not well understood. Using Drosophila as a model, the St Johnston lab reveal a molecular mechanism underlying the oocyte specification process. Initial asymmetry in the cyst results from unequal divisions during cyst formation...

Fig 1 Ruth et al on GWAS study of genes associated with ANM

04.08.21 Perry and colleagues newly identify hundreds of genetic loci associated with age at natural menopause

26 October 2021

Associate Group Leader John RB Perry and a team of colleagues performed a large-scale genome-wide association study (GWAS) of menopause timing. The findings provide insight into the mechanisms that govern ovarian ageing, when they act, and how they might be targeted by therapeutic approaches to extend fertility and prevent...

Graphic abstract illustrates DREAM working with THAP proteins

19.10.21 Ahringer lab study shows THAP domain proteins mediate DREAM repression of cell cycle and germline genes

18 October 2021

Exploring the mechanism of action of DREAM in C. elegans , the Ahringer lab uncovered two THAP domain proteins that co-localise with DREAM and function by different mechanisms to repress distinct gene targets. LIN-36 represses classical cell-cycle targets while LIN-15B represses germline-specific tragets in the soma, and...

Microscopic image of several developing rabbit embryos

12.10.21 Surani lab study establishes rabbit embryo as surrogate model for early human development

12 October 2021

A study by alumnus Toshi Kobayashi with the Surani group on rabbit embryos shows they provide an essential surrogate model for the inaccessible human embryo, as exemplified by observations on the emergence of primordial germ cells (PGCs) in gastrulating rabbit embryos. The study establishes rabbits as a highly accessible...