Keen to return to a scientific career? Applications are open for the Janet Thornton Fellowship
Have you had a career break from science, and would like to return? The Wellcome Sanger Institute has created a postdoctoral fellowship specifically for people who have been out of scientific research for 12 months or more.
Sanger researcher wins prize from European Society for Human Genetics
Dr Gosia Trynka, Group Leader at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, has been awarded the 2020 Leena Peltonen prize by the European Society for Human Genetics (ESHG). This prize is given every two years to an outstanding young researcher in the field of human genetics.
4,000 years of contact, conflict and cultural change had little genetic impact on Near East
The Near East was a crossroad for the ancient world’s greatest civilizations, and invasions over centuries caused enormous changes in cultures, religions and languages. However, a new study of the DNA of ancient skeletons spanning 4,000 years has revealed that most of these changes had no lasting effect on the genetics of the local population of Beirut.
Analysis of COVID-19 Genomes reveals large numbers of introductions to the UK in March
Data reports published by the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium (COG-UK) show the value in mapping COVID-19 lineages across the UK to understand how the virus is spreading at national, regional and local levels.
Potentially cancerous cells kept in check by competitive neighbours, study of oesophagus finds
The expansion of ‘mutant’ cells that could lead to cancer is often kept in check by their neighbours, research from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Cambridge and their collaborators has found. The team discovered that when equally-matched cells in the oesophagus of mice coincided, they acted as a brake on one another’s growth.
Key nose cells identified as likely COVID-19 entry points
Study with Human Cell Atlas could help understand transmission of the virus.
Normal human uterus is colonised by clones with cancer-driving mutations that arise early in life, study finds
Many cells in the inner lining of the uterus carry ‘cancer-driving’ mutations that frequently arise early in life, report scientists from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Cambridge and their collaborators. The research team conducted whole-genome sequencing of healthy human endometrium, providing a comprehensive overview of the rates and patterns of DNA changes in this tissue…
Experience matters for immune cells - discovery of T cells response spectrum could help understand immune diseases
The discovery that immune T cells have a spectrum of responsiveness could shed light on how our immune system responds to infections and cancer, and what goes wrong in immune diseases. Researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Open Targets, Biogen, GSK and their collaborators found that T cells responded very differently to immune signals the more 'training' they had been exposed to, rather…
UK launches whole genome sequence alliance to map spread of coronavirus
The Wellcome Sanger Institute will collaborate with expert groups across the country to analyse the genetic code of COVID-19 samples circulating in the UK, providing public health agencies with a unique tool to combat the virus.
New research on brain structure highlights cells linked to Alzheimer's and autism
New insights into the architecture of the brain have been revealed by scientists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and their collaborators. The researchers discovered that cells in the cerebral cortex of mice, called astrocytes, are more diverse than previously thought, with distinct layers of astrocytes across the cerebral cortex that provide the…
Origins of immune system mapped, opening doors for new cancer immunotherapies
A first cell atlas of the human thymus gland could lead to new immune therapies to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases. Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Newcastle University and Ghent University, Belgium, mapped thymus tissue through the human lifespan to understand how it develops and makes vital immune cells called T cells. In the future, this information could help researchers…
Origins of immune system mapped, opening doors for new cancer immunotherapies
A first cell atlas of the human thymus gland could lead to new immune therapies to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases. Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Newcastle University and Ghent University, Belgium, mapped thymus tissue through the human lifespan to understand how it develops and makes vital immune cells called T cells. In the future, this information could help researchers…
Otter genome to help understand genetic legacy of pollution crisis and secure species’ future
One of Britain’s best-loved mammals is set to receive a boost with the sequencing and release of the first high-quality Eurasian otter genome by scientists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, in partnership with the Cardiff University Otter Project.
Gut bacteria’s interactions with immune system mapped
The first detailed cell atlas of the immune cells and gut bacteria within the human colon has been created by researchers. The study from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and collaborators revealed different immune niches, showing changes in the bacterial microbiome and immune cells throughout the colon.
Comprehensive study finds mutations in non-coding genome are infrequent drivers of cancer
A clearer picture of how DNA changes lead to cancer has emerged, following the most comprehensive evaluation of non-coding driver mutations to date by researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Aarhus University Hospital and their collaborators.
Cancer-causing culprits will be caught by their DNA fingerprints
Causes of cancer are being catalogued by a huge international study revealing the genetic fingerprints of DNA-damaging processes that drive cancer development. Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Duke-NUS Medical School Singapore, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and their collaborators around the world have achieved the…
Red and grey squirrel genomes could hold the key to the survival of reds in Britain and Ireland
New hope for the preservation of red squirrels in Britain and Ireland is on the horizon, after the completion of the red and grey squirrel reference genomes by scientists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and their collaborators. The genomes may hold clues to why grey squirrels are immune to squirrel pox, a disease that is fatal to most red squirrels.
Tailor-made vaccines could almost halve rates of serious bacterial disease
New research has found that rates of disease caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae could be substantially reduced by changing our approach to vaccination. Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Simon Fraser University in Canada and Imperial College London combined genomic data, models of bacterial evolution and predictive modelling to identify how vaccines could be optimised…
Never too late to quit: protective cells could cut risk of lung cancer for ex-smokers
Protective cells in the lungs of ex-smokers could explain why quitting smoking reduces the risk of developing lung cancer, scientists have determined. Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, UCL and their collaborators have discovered that, compared to current smokers, people who had stopped smoking had more genetically healthy lung cells, which have a much lower risk of developing into…
Root of childhood kidney cancer discovered
A fundamental change in our understanding of the childhood kidney cancer Wilms' tumour is on the horizon, after the discovery of its earliest genetic root by scientists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and their collaborators. By comparing genome sequences from normal kidney tissue and tumours, the team identified patches of normal-looking kidney tissue that in fact carried DNA changes that cause…
New malaria drug targets identified in liver stage of life cycle
New research into the different life stages of malaria parasites has identified promising areas for new drug targets aimed at disrupting the parasite’s invasion of the liver. Scientists from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Bern and Umeå University discovered seven metabolic pathways that the parasite needs to infect the liver, where the parasite multiplies rapidly before invading…
Ambitious project to map genomes of all life on British Isles funded by Wellcome
An unprecedented insight to the diverse range of species on the British Isles will be made possible by Wellcome funding to the Darwin Tree of Life Project.
Measles infection wipes our immune system's memory, leaving us vulnerable to other diseases
Scientists have shown how measles causes long-term damage to the immune system, leaving people vulnerable to other infections. Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, University of Amsterdam and their collaborators revealed that the measles virus deletes part of the immune system’s memory, removing previously existing immunity to other infections, in both humans and ferrets. Importantly,…
Accumulation of DNA mutations found in healthy liver leads to disease
New insights into the journey from health to disease in the human liver have been made by scientists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, the University of Cambridge and their collaborators. In the largest study of its kind, the team documented in unprecedented detail how the accumulation of changes in our DNA over time, known as mutations, evolves during the…
Resurrection of 50,000-year-old gene reveals how malaria parasite jumped from gorillas to humans
For the first time, scientists have uncovered the likely series of events that led to the world’s deadliest malaria parasite being able to jump from gorillas to humans. Researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the University of Montpellier reconstructed an approximately 50,000-year-old gene sequence that was acquired by the ancestor of Plasmodium falciparum, giving it the ability to…