29.11.19 Role for the integrin Myospheroid in defining egg chamber architecture in Drosophila
Integrins are proteins that link cells and tissues to their underlying substrate. New research from the St Johnston lab shows how these proteins help to define the architecture of the Drosophila egg chamber, a model for organ development.
27.11.19 Gene discovery in fruit flies could help guide new treatments for mitochondrial disease
The Ma lab have identified several nuclear genes in fruit flies that influence mitochondrial DNA transmission, providing potential leads for drug discovery to treat human mitochondrial diseases
15.11.19 MDC1 retains capacity to recruit repair factors to sites of DNA damage in absence of H2AX
Salguero et al. from Steve Jackson's lab show that DNA-damage response protein MDC1 unexpectedly retains its capacity to recruit repair factors to sites of damage in the absence of H2AX. This represents an alternative pathway to promote DNA repair.
16.09.19 Discovery of first selective inhibitors of the Fanconi anaemia pathway that mediates chemotherapy resistance
Galanty and colleagues in the Jackson lab identify two small-molecule inhibitors of the Fanconi anemia pathway, necessary for cancer cells that are - or become - resistant to DNA cross-linking therapeutics. These provide leads for development of drugs to re-sensitise tumours to cross-linking agents such as cisplatin.
01.11.19 Checkpoint inhibition of origin firing prevents DNA topological stress
Morafraile et al. from the Zegerman lab with UK colleagues reveal that the role of limiting the number of DNA replication initiation events is to prevent DNA topological stress, which may be relevant for cancer treatment with both topoisomerase and checkpoint inhibitors.
04.11.19 Regeneration mechanism uncovered in adult mouse liver tissue provides target for drug design
The Huch lab and collaborators have uncovered a novel molecular mechanism in mice that allows damaged adult liver cells to regenerate, paving the way for design of drugs to boost regeneration in conditions such as cirrhosis or other chronic liver diseases where regeneration is impaired.
11.10.19 ERC Synergy Grant for Jackson lab in European collaborative project on DNA damage response
Steve Jackson's lab is the first in Cambridge to be awarded a new European Research Council Synergy Grant under the Horizon 2020 funding programme from the European Union. Steve's research collaborators are in Switzerland and Austria.
09.10.19 Rawlins lab researchers are captured in oils for The Rising Tide exhibition at UL
Artist Caroline Walker watched and photographed researchers at the bench in the Rawlins lab at the Gurdon Institute and created a stunning, large-format oil painting for the University Library's upcoming exhibition, 'The Rising Tide: Women at Cambridge'.
12.09.19 Blocking mitochondria-generated energy reduces brain tumour growth and stem cell differentiation
Jelle van den Ameele and Andrea Brand studied mitochondrial metabolism in normal brain development and in brain tumours in the fruit fly, showing that it contributes to stem cell differentiation as well as cell proliferation
26.09.19 Meri Huch receives BINDER Innovation Prize 2019 from German Society for Cell Biology
The annual prize, founded by German company BINDER GmbH, is awarded for outstanding cell biological research with a focus on cell culture or the use of cell cultures
11.09.19 'Herculean' project catalogues over 4,500 mutational signatures of the Yeast Knockout Collection
Jackson lab researchers create unique genomics resource from > 4,500 yeast strains to identify genes protecting cells from DNA alterations that are implicated in human disease and ageing
15.08.19 Defining two populations of stem cells in the gastric corpus epithelium
Simons, Koo and colleagues define the identity and dynamics of adult gastric isthmus stem cells, which maintain the rapid turnover of the upper part of the corpus gland
29.07.19 Revealing the cellular mechanism of sebaceous gland development in mouse
Ben Simons and collaborators in Copenhagen and Vienna probe the origin, development and maintenance of the sebaceous gland in mouse skin, using clonal fate studies.
21.05.19 Sparrows: A new model organism for studying role of small RNAs in inheritance
This study from the Miska lab, with colleagues at Imperial, provides a first reference of house sparrow sperm small RNA as an attempt to uncover their role in the transmission of the effects of paternal age on the offspring.
27.04.19 Discovering gene circuits using machine-learning algorithms
Tom Hiscock in the Simons group applied a computational approach to generate algorithms describing natural gene circuits and for designing circuits in synthetic biology. The work is published in BMC Bioinformatics
13.05.19 Doctorate Honoris Causa conferred on Sir John Gurdon at Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna of Pisa
The Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna of Pisa confers an honorary doctorate in Translational Medicine on John Gurdon
29.05.19 Bipotent stem cells in embryonic liver give rise to hepatocytes and cholangiocytes
Prior et al. in the Huch and Simons labs use lineage tracing, sc-RNA seq and organoid culture to show that Lgr5 is a marker for a sub-population of bipotent liver progenitor cells
06.10.18 International honour for Tony Kouzarides from learned society in the USA
Senior group leader Prof Tony Kouzarides has been elected an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
02.04.19 Citrullination of heterochromatin protein 1 gamma diminishes when stem cells differentiate
The Kouzarides lab and colleagues identify citrullination of HP1γ within its chromodomain as a novel post-translational modification in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) that is dynamically regulated during mESC differentiation.
02.05.19 Transmissible RNA pathway in honey bees offers potential route for bee 'vaccines'
Eyal Maori with the Miska lab and collaborators in Israel, the USA and UK show that honey bees share genetic material via their equivalent of mother's milk, allowing spread between colony members. In addition, the scientists identify the chemical composition of an RNA-stabilising protein in royal jelly that protects the RNA when outside the body
25.04.19 m7G is a new RNA-modification pathway with phenotypic effects
The Kouzarides lab identify a METTL1-dependent modification of RNA, N7-methylation of guanosine, as a new modification pathway regulating miRNA structure and biogenesis, with a phenotypic effect on cancer cell migration
06.04.19 Ten years since first ever single-cell RNA seq paper - from the Gurdon Institute
The technique for examining all the gene products in one cell at one timepoint, single-cell RNA sequencing, was established right here at the Gurdon Institute in Azim Surani's lab. The method was published on 6 April 2009; below is the abstract and a recent paper analysing successive developments in the technique.
26.03.19 Identifying locations and homogeneity of N-6 methylated deoxyadenosine
Pacini et al. from the Gurdon lab have mapped the novel DNA modification m6dA at nucleotiode level in the human genome, showing that this low-abundance mark occurs precisely and consistently
21.03.19 Neural stem cell activation speed depends on position in brain
Otsuki and Brand show that in the Drosophila brain, the speed at which stem cells can be activated to start diving depends on their dorsal-ventral location, an important consideration in designing regeneration therapies
18.02.19 Miska lab identify hundreds of new non-coding RNAs and prove biological activity in several
C elegans is the model of choice for identifying long non-coding RNAs and investigating whether their deletion has biological effects. The Miska lab, with the Earlham Institute, find several that affect growth and fertility.
28.02.19 Extending Turing's reaction-diffusion model with mechanics, for robust tissue patterning during development
The Simons lab, with colleagues in France and Austria, devise a new model for tissue patterning, proposing that mechanical forces work in combination with chemical gradients to generate spatial patterns
21.02.19 Miska lab find sex differences in gene silencing by environmental RNA
Using C elegans as a model, the Miska lab and colleagues show clear differences between sexes in small RNA abundance that are associated with trans-generational inheritance
22.02.19 Physical and molecular underpinnings of proneural wave in Drosophila optic lobe
The Simons and Brand labs combine expertise to show that a reaction-diffusion mechanism underlies a travelling wave of gene expression that turns neuroepithelial cells into neuroblasts
11.02.19 Steve Jackson to receive the ARC Foundation's Léopold Griffuel Award
Steve Jackson wins prestigious cancer research award from the Fondation ARC pour la recherche sur le cancer
