Dr Arianne Richard, a joint postdoctoral fellow in the Griffiths (CIMR) and Marioni (CRUK Cambridge Institute) labs, has reported in Nature Immunology that the killing capacity of cytotoxic T cells – critical for defence against tumours and viral pathogens – is independent of initial ligand stimulation strength. This has resolved conflicting models of the impact […]

Researchers at the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit, led by Dr Judy Hirst, have used cryoEM to determine structures of mammalian respiratory complex I at atomic resolution – sufficient to see how individual amino acid sidechains change position between two different states of the enzyme. In this work, published in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, Ahmed-Noor Agip […]

A report created in collaboration between Rebecca Simmons, Deputy Director of THIS Institute and RAND Europe has demonstrated that joining forces with diverse groups of people can help produce high-quality systematic reviews more quickly and efficiently, according to a new report from THIS Institute. Citizen science: crowdsourcing for systematic reviews looks at how people can contribute their expertise […]

Dr Jenna Panter and Dr Oliver Mytton, of the MRC Epidemiology Unit and Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR) have published new research, in the journal Heart, that identifies that swapping your car for more physically active forms of travel may reduce your risk of premature death.   Most physical activity studies focus on sport and recreational activity […]

The human aorta stiffens with age but this is not a benign process with a stiffer aorta conferring a higher risk of cardiovascular events including stroke. Recent work by Dr Yasmin from the Division of Experimental Medicine & Immunotherapeutics, Department of Medicine (O’Shaughnessy and Wilkinson groups) published in Scientific Reports has identified two extracellular matrix proteins (aggrecan […]

The spread of cancers to distant organs, or metastasis, is responsible for the majority of cancer-related deaths. How cancers develop the capability to spread has remained mostly unclear, however. New research led by Dr. Sakari Vanharanta at the MRC Cancer Unit, University of Cambridge, has now identified molecular mechanisms that allow cancer cells to acquire […]

A research team, led by Dr José Silva and Dr Elsa Sousa from the Wellcome – MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, at the University of Cambridge, used mouse embryonic stem cells to reveal that X Chromosome Inactivation starts on all X chromosomes regardless of sex (XX or XY).  Research published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, […]

Researchers from the Departments of Haematology and Public Health and Primary Care, led by Nick Gleadall and Adam Butterworth, have published a study with collaborators in North America, to enable more precise antigen-matching of patients with blood donors. The whole genome sequencing (WGS)-based antigen typing platform provides a novel approach to improve transfusion outcomes with […]

The groups of David Savage (Institute of Metabolic Sciences) and Symeon Siniossoglou (CIMR) have collaborated in a Developmental Cell study that provides new insights into a biophysical mechanism through which levels of the major membrane component phosphatidylcholine (PC) are sensed. The physiological importance of maintaining membrane lipid composition within narrow limits is reflected by the many diseases in which this […]