Gene variant dramatically reduces ‘bad’ lipids
Research using data collected from around 4,000 healthy people in the UK has enabled scientists to identify a rare genetic variant that dramatically reduces levels of certain types of lipids in the blood. The study is the first to emerge from the UK10K Project’s cohort of samples from the general public and demonstrates the power of whole genome sequencing at scale.
Genome-wide association study in disease-causing bacteria paves way for clinical tool
Researchers have developed a powerful new tool to identify genetic changes in disease-causing bacteria that are responsible for antibiotic resistance. The results from this technique could be used in clinics within the next decade to decide on the most effective treatments for diseases such as pneumonia and meningitis.
New malaria vaccine candidates identified
Researchers have discovered new vaccine targets that could help in the battle against malaria. Taking a new, large-scale approach to this search, researchers tested a library of proteins from the Plasmodium falciparum parasite with antibodies produced by the immune systems of a group of infected children.
Atlas shows how genes affect our metabolism
In the most comprehensive exploration of the association between genetic variation and human metabolism, researchers have provided unprecedented insights into how genetic variants influence complex disease and drug response through metabolic pathways.
Tsetse fly genome reveals weaknesses
Mining the genome of the disease-transmitting tsetse fly, researchers have revealed the genetic adaptions that allow it to have such unique biology and transmit disease to both humans and animals.
Impact of whooping cough vaccination revealed
The most comprehensive study to date of the family of bacteria that causes whooping cough points to more effective vaccine strategies and reveals surprising findings about the bacteria’s origin and evolution. The new results could alter public health strategies to control this respiratory disease, which kills 195,000 children worldwide each year.
Sperm meets egg: protein essential for fertilisation discovered
Researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have discovered interacting proteins on the surface of the sperm and the egg essential to begin mammalian life. These proteins, which allow the sperm and egg to recognise one another, offer new paths towards improved fertility treatments and the development of new contraceptives.
Virus-fighting genes linked to mutations in cancer
Cambridge researchers have found a major piece of genetic evidence that confirms the role of a group of virus-fighting genes in cancer development.
The Sanger Institute honoured with Athena SWAN Bronze Award
The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is one of the first six research institutes in the UK to be recognised by the Equality Challenge Unit's Athena SWAN Charter, a scheme that recognises excellence in women's employment in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine.
Genetic mutations warn of skin cancer risk
Researchers have discovered that mutations in a specific gene are responsible for a hereditary form of melanoma.
Out of Africa: the evolution of Plasmodium vivax
Researchers have shown that Plasmodium vivax, which causes the majority of human malaria infections in Asia and Latin America, actually originated in Africa.
Immune system development linked to leukaemia
Scientists have discovered a genetic signature that implicates a key mechanism in the immune system as a driving force for a type of childhood leukaemia.
Why is type 2 diabetes an increasing problem?
Contrary to a common belief, researchers have shown that genetic regions associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes were unlikely to have been beneficial to people at stages through human evolution.
Gene promotes one in a hundred tumours
Researchers have identified a gene that drives the development of tumours in over one per cent of all cancer patients. This is the first time that the gene CUX1 has been broadly linked to cancer development.
What makes the deadliest form of malaria specific to people?
Researchers have discovered why the parasite that causes the deadliest form of malaria only infects humans.
Fred Sanger, 1918-2013
Fred Sanger, who died on Tuesday (19 November 2013), aged 95, was the quiet giant of genomics, the father of an area of science that we will explore for decades to come. His achievements rank alongside those of Francis Crick, James Watson and Rosalind Franklin in discovering the structure of DNA.
Cutting edge new build for Genome Campus
The Wellcome Trust Conference Centre has received planning permission to build an innovative development that will cater for a wide range of audiences such as conference delegates, school students and staff of the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus. The £9.7 million project, known as the Kitchen Garden Enclosure, is reminiscent of the famous glass ceiling in the British Museum and will include a new…
£25m to kick-start 'industrial revolution' in regenerative medicine
The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is participating in a £25 million programme to develop regenerative medicine therapies for a range of applications, including Parkinson's disease, cardiovascular disease, wound and musculoskeletal repair, eye disorders and deafness.
Parasitic worm genome uncovers potential drug targets
Researchers have identified five enzymes that are essential to the survival of a parasitic worm that infects livestock worldwide and is a great threat to global food security. Two of these proteins are already being studied as potential drug targets against other pathogens.
Hand-in-hand with the local community
Wellcome Trust Conference Centre wins prize for engaging with local communities around Cambridge
Cancer’s origins revealed
Cambridge researchers have provided the first comprehensive compendium of mutational processes that drive tumour development. Together, these mutational processes explain most mutations found in 30 of the most common cancer types. This new understanding of cancer development could help to treat and prevent a wide range of cancers.
Distinct brain disorders biologically linked
Disruption to the gene TOP3B increases susceptibility to schizophrenia and a learning disorder
New opportunities to treat bowel cancer
Researchers have discovered the genetic processes that cause specific types of bowel cancer. Using this knowledge, they identified cancer drugs that target these genes. Their findings offer the opportunity to develop personalised treatment based on a person’s genetic profile.
Sanger Institute researchers spark discussion on genomes and healthcare
The Sanger Institute is sending 50 of its researchers to this year’s Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition to take visitors on a journey through genetic discoveries and find out what they think should be done with their DNA data.
Getting to grips with migraine
Researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have identified some of the biological roots of migraine from a large-scale genome study.