Welcome to the MRC WIMM blog, a blog aimed at a scientifc, but non-specialist, audience. All posts are written by members of the MRC WIMM!
What links Down Syndrome and childhood leukaemia?
23 April 2015
In short: we don’t know – but scientists at the WIMM are hoping to find out. Just over a year ago, Professor Irene Roberts moved from the Hammersmith Hospital in London to the WIMM, where she is continuing her long-standing research into haematological disorders that affect newborn babies – particularly those with Down syndrome. In this blog, Dr. Barbara Xella talks to Irene about her work, and how she hopes it will help to improve diagnosis and treatment of these devastating childhood disorders.
Immunology taught by bees
As many of us are painfully aware, bees and wasps are best known for their irksome ability to deliver a nasty sting. But what isn’t so well known is that the contents of the sting can provide insights into how the body detects attacks from the outside world, and even provide potential new avenues for treatment. In this blog post, we find out how Graham Ogg and his team have been taking a lesson in immunology from an unexpected source.
Scientists, solar eclipses, and smartphones
‘Interdisciplinary collaboration’ is a phrase familiar to many scientists. It is tied into funding applications, policy decisions, and teaching. But sometimes, it is the wonder of science and science alone that brings people from all different walks of life together, and that’s what happened on Friday March 20th when, briefly, the moon eclipsed the sun and the earth was plunged into darkness. Here Kevin Clark explains how scientists from the WIMM were joined by members of the public to witness this remarkable event.
How students see scientists: Part IV
10 March 2015
A group of undergraduate students studying human biosciences at Petroc, a further education college in north Devon, were invited to visit the WIMM for a day. In the fourth blog from our series of posts by students who undertake work placements at the WIMM, they share their impressions of the experience.
A year in the life of a research institute: the WIMM blog celebrates its first birthday
23 February 2015
Just over a year ago, the WIMM Blog first appeared on the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine’s webpage, tentatively re-posting an article that had originally been written for the MRC blog Insight. Today, the blog is a fully-fledged interactive site, and has had over two and half thousand hits in the last four months alone. Here we review the blog’s first year, and take a peek into what the future might hold…
Exposed: the secret life of cells
10 February 2015
Last year, the Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded to Eric Betzig, William Moerner and Stefan Hell for developing powerful new microscopes capable of looking at cells in unprecedented detail. Known as super-resolution imaging or optical nanoscopy, this new technology allows scientists to ask fundamental questions about how cells work that previously could only be speculated about. Professor Christian Eggeling (a group leader in the WIMM Human Immunology Unit and the scientific director of the new imaging facility at the institute) worked as a senior scientist with Stefan Hell, and here Dr. Bryony Graham explains how Prof. Eggeling’s team has in collaboration with some of his old colleagues been using optical nanoscopy to observe novel details on how molecules interact on the surface of the cell, otherwise known as the cellular membrane.
Specifying stem cells, specifically
27 January 2015
Your blood is made up of many, many different types of highly specialized cells: white blood cells to fight infections; red blood cells to carry oxygen; and platelets to allow your blood to clot (to name but a few). Scientists now know that all of these diverse cell types originate from a single parent cell – the blood (or haematopoietic) stem cell, which is found in the bone marrow. These rare stem cells have huge clinical potential for helping to cure people with devastating blood-related diseases such as leukaemia, but to date little has been known about where these cells themselves originate. However, new research from Roger Patient’s lab helps to shed light on how these unique cells are made. Bryony Graham explains more.
How students see scientists: Part III
7 January 2015
In the third instalment of our series of blogs by students who have undertaken work placements at the WIMM, here Jonathon Leung explains why he chose to come to the Institute as part of a unique undergraduate medical course at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The programme, known as the Global Physician-Leadership Stream, encourages its students to travel abroad during their studies to experience research or clinical environments in other countries. Last year, Jonathon spent six weeks in Doug Higgs’ lab, and here he describes how his time at the WIMM has inspired him to pursue clinical research in the future.
Learning the FACS
11 December 2014
Modern scientific research is being revolutionised by incredibly powerful new technologies: machines which can read your entire genetic code; microscopes which can see individual molecules inside living cells; and computers which can re-create the big bang. In this post, Lucas Greder in Marella de Bruijn’s lab describes his experiences with another such technology: fluorescence activated cell sorting (or FACS), and how learning to master this technique is critical to his ongoing PhD research.
Fighting the flu: boosting the immune system in the elderly
26 November 2014
It’s late November. It’s starting to get pretty chilly; you’re debating whether it’s OK to put the heating on yet; and then you start to get just a hint of a sore throat. Which develops into a cough. And a runny nose. And before you know it, you’re laid up with a full-blown cold. It’s well known that the elderly are more susceptible to common illnesses like the flu than younger people, but it’s less well understood why. However, recent research by Katja Simon’s lab in the Human Immunology Unit at the WIMM has not only identified a key process involved in flu susceptibility in the elderly, but also a drug which might help to alleviate the problem. Dr. Bryony Graham explains more.
Micro by name; mighty in nature
13 November 2014
Each individual cell in our body has its own specific set of instructions that allow it to execute a particular task – like ensuring a red blood cell can carry oxygen, and a nerve cell can detect pain. By definition, these sets of instructions must be wildly different between various cell types – but how does the body control which instructions are assigned to each cell? The answer is a very complex set of mechanisms that are exceedingly difficult to understand, but new tools developed by a joint team of scientists from the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine and Department of Physiology Anatomy and Genetics in Oxford, should help decipher one layer of this regulatory landscape. Dr. Bryony Graham explains more.
From petri dish to personalised medicine
16 October 2014
Bowel cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer. In 2011, over 40,000 people in the UK were diagnosed with the disease1: equivalent to one person every 15 minutes. In order to try and understand how and why this form of cancer develops, scientists need to be able to grow cells derived from tumours in the lab – something which has proven to be extremely challenging. However, researchers in Walter Bodmer’s group at the WIMM have recently developed a method to not only propagate these rare tumour samples in the lab, but also to coax them to develop into structures similar to those found in the body. Bryony Graham explains more.
Autoimmune Addison’s disease: when the immune system destroys our ability to cope with stress
17 September 2014
Your immune system is usually something you’re grateful for; it helps you fight infections, deal with cuts and bruises, and generally defend your body against all the bugs and grubs that are constantly trying to make you sick. However, in rare cases, the immune system turns on itself – instead of attacking bacteria and viruses, it starts to attack YOU. There are several diseases in which this phenomenon, known as autoimmunity, is observed – here Lauren Howson describes recent work by the Cerundolo lab in the MRC Human Immunology Unit at the WIMM that sheds some light on one such disease, known as Autoimmune Addison’s Disease.
How students see scientists: Part I
4 September 2014
The WIMM actively supports the development of aspiring young scientists, and every summer the Institute opens its doors to a variety of students at different stages in their academic careers. In July, two A-Level students from the John of Gaunt school in Trowbridge spent a week in the WIMM, getting to know the scientists that work there and having a sneak peek into the mysterious world of biomedical research. Here, Ceara Kaveney and Etain Dobson give an insight into their experience at the WIMM, and how it has changed their outlook on science as a career.
What do scientists and the paparazzi have in common?
19 August 2014
The short answer is – more photos than they know what to do with. Researchers might not be snapping celebrities, but they do generate thousands of images of animals, cells, proteins, and countless other weird and wonderful biological phenomena. Whilst perhaps not quite as visually appealing as Brad Pitt or Beyonce, these images do have one thing in common: they all need to be stored, organized and analysed, and new software developed by Steve Taylor at the WIMM promises to do just that. Bryony Graham explains more.
How to make a red blood cell – and fast
18 July 2014
Understanding how normal blood cells are made in the body can help us understand what goes wrong in blood-related diseases such as anaemia (a lack of red blood cells) and leukaemia (cancer of the blood). Guest writer Dr. Gemma Swiers describes recent research by Claus Nerlov’s group in the WIMM that has made an exciting breakthrough in understanding how the body produces red blood cells – especially when they are needed most.
How do you solve a problem like anaemia?
4 July 2014
Anaemia is a condition where sufferers have a reduced number of functional red blood cells. It is a global problem which affects over 270 million pre-school children worldwide, the majority of whom are from low and middle-income countries in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa. There is an evident need to continue research of this disease and here Raffaella Facchini describes recent work from Hal Drakesmith’s lab at the WIMM that could help to develop more targeted prevention strategies for children in the developing world.
Step-by-step: determining the development of cancer
19 June 2014
There are over 200 different types of cancer, with 1 in the 3 people in the UK being affected by the disease during their lifetime. Cancer is caused by an accumulation of multiple alterations to the genetic material inside a cell, and these changes can vary widely even between individuals suffering from the same form of cancer. This complexity makes cancer a hugely challenging disease to treat, and therefore there is an evident need for scientists to continue their research to improve our understanding of this disease. Raffaella Facchini describes the development of a novel tool by researchers in Terry Rabbitts’ lab at the WIMM that could help scientists study how and why cancers develop.
Never work with children AND animals (unless they’re kittens)
4 June 2014
Two years ago, Dr. Kathryn Robson, a senior scientist at the WIMM, ran a five-week course on Life Sciences for 10-11 year olds at a primary school in Abingdon. Using the pedigree cats that she breeds, Dr. Robson introduced the concept of genetic inheritance and a complex biological phenomenon known as X-inactivation to a very young audience. This month, one of the famous felines (then merely a kitten) gave birth to her own litter of kittens. To mark the anniversary, here Dr Robson explains how (sometimes!) working with children and animals can actually do the trick…
Does the answer lie within…? Using patients’ proteins to target breast cancer
23 May 2014
Breast cancer remains the most common type of cancer in the UK, with women at a 1 in 8 lifetime risk of being diagnosed with this disease. In 2010 alone, more than 49,500 women were diagnosed (equivalent to 136 women per day) and approximately 400 men1. Here, Raffaella Facchini describes a recent collaborative study including researchers at the WIMM which could help to develop novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for breast cancer.