Wellcome Sanger Institute

Come delve into the DNA of some of the most fascinating and creepy creatures on the planet — think bats, spiders, and worms with toxic bites. Studying the detailed DNA of these living nightmares can help scientists uncover new secrets about their biology. 🔬 Hear from experts in the field, like Marco Meyer, who studies spiders in the UK. 🕸 💬 “My research background is in functional morphology – how do web-building spiders avoid getting stuck in their own webs? I studied the antiadhesive nanostructures that allow them to steer clear of their own snares – but beyond that, I am passionate about how spiders adapt their form and behaviour to their environment.” Are you brave enough to follow the link to our latest blog? Spooky spiders, bats, worms, corals and more await. 🦇 📷 Dave Goulding/Wellcome Sanger Institute https://lnkd.in/eR9HwiBK

📰 It's a long one this month! In our latest Newsletter for September 2024 we cover ⬇ - Personalising cancer treatment using the gut microbiome - Natural probiotic discovered in UK newborns' microbiomes - The DNA sequence of a wood-munching marauder - Breast and ovarian cancer newly linked to thousands of gene variants - Coral genomes to combat bleaching - Large-scale study of children with genetic disorders finds huge benefit of diagnosis - Human skin map gives 'recipe' to build skin and could help prevent scarring - Drawing out the beauty of UK invertebrates for #Invertober - AI and the future of generative biology with Leopold Parts - AI and genome engineering: new directions in biology Stay in the loop 👉 Click 📰 Read 🖥 Subscribe ⬇ hashtag #latestgeneticresearch

AI in genome engineering is taking biology in new directions 🧬🌐 Leopold Parts and his team at the Wellcome Sanger Institute are leading this innovation. By integrating AI into #CRISPR and #Genome #Engineering, they are improving the precision of gene editing laying the groundwork for researchers to design and engineer biological systems to bring us closer to personalised medicine and enhanced biotechnology. 💬 “It feels like AI is liberating this ‘design for function’. You no longer need to experiment blindly. Instead, one can do a systematic scan, build an AI predictor, and then use that to generate new things that work as expected. I think it will be an opportunity amplifier – speeding up drug development and facilitating new discoveries. This could radically shorten the time it takes to move from an observation to a useful result,” said Leo. Find out more about Leo’s vision for the future of genomics in our latest blog ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/eynvY7-S #science #technology #tech #innovation #artificialintelligence #AI #Biotech #GenerativeGenomics #SyntheticBiology #PersonalisedMedicine

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Our latest Meet the Scientists blog features Damilola Gbore, DVM. Damilola isn't your typical veterinary student - he's now on a new career path taking on computational biology rather than clinical work. Hear more about his experience as a Sanger Prize winner working in infectious disease research. Visit the blog to read the full story ⤵ https://lnkd.in/eYz_PtP8

All DNA changes that cause cancer to become resistant to treatment fall into one of four categories. 🔬 One of the major challenges in cancer treatment is drug resistance. DNA changes can mean that cancer cells become resistant to initial treatment, and once this happens, therapy options can be limited. New research from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, European Bioinformatics Institute | EMBL-EBI, Open Targets, and collaborators, has detailed these DNA changes, helping to uncover targets for drug development and identify potential effective second-line therapies. 💊 By using #CRISPR gene editing to map the genetic landscape of drug resistance in cancers, the study explains how known mutations impact drug resistance and highlights new DNA changes that could be explored further. This can help researchers identify new targets for personalised therapies, help treat patients based on their cancer’s genetic makeup, give second-line treatment options to those who currently have none, and help further research to develop next-generation cancer drugs that could avoid drug resistance emerging. 🧬 Read the full story ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/eHUD8rgX #cancer #genomics #cancerresearch

We have joined the Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE) and other leading organisations in the R&D sector to urge the UK Government to back R&D if it wants to achieve its ambitions for economic and social growth. This month’s budget is a critical moment. We recognise that there are difficult decisions to be made with the public finances, but it is vital that our long-term ability to grow the economy isn’t undermined by the false economy of short-term cuts. Together with other leaders in the field, we have written to the UK Government asking them to use the budget and spending review to commit to continued investment in R&D. The full letter can be found here: https://lnkd.in/eye55dmE And the published article in the FT (paywalled) https://lnkd.in/euNz7Rw4

Generative #AI is revolutionising #genomics and synthetic biology.   Our researchers are integrating generative AI into genomics and synthetic biology, enabling them to better predict, design, and engineer biological sequences like DNA and proteins with high precision. 📊 🗨️ “We believe that scientific capability for addressing most biological problems is currently hampered by limitations in data… As we draw on the power of AI, we aim to engineer biology with precision, and eventually reimagine the future of genomic research and its eventual impact on areas such as healthcare, agriculture and biotechnology.” Professor Ben Lehner, Head of Generative and Synthetic Genomics. Want to learn more about how AI is unlocking the future of genomics? Read more in our latest blog ⤵ https://lnkd.in/eh4QpZ_3 #AI #Genomics #Biotech #SyntheticBiology #Innovation #Healthcare #PersonalisedMedicine

A ‘recipe’ for how human skin forms has been revealed in new research today in Nature Magazine. The insights could offer potential for future skin transplants and treating congenital conditions. Before birth, skin forms all of its hair follicles — a process that never happens again. While hair continues to grow throughout life, no new follicles are made after this critical stage. Prenatal skin also has the unique ability to heal without scarring. How these processes worked has been unclear until now. For the first time, researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and Newcastle University have created a single cell map of prenatal human skin, uncovering how skin and hair follicles develop before birth. They also developed a lab-grown mini organ of skin that can grow hair, revealing that immune cells play a key role in scar-free healing 🔬 The findings could lead to treatments that prevent scarring and help regenerate skin and hair for burn victims. 🗨️ “With our prenatal human skin atlas, we’ve provided the first molecular ‘recipe’ for making human skin and uncovered how human hair follicles are formed before birth. These insights have amazing clinical potential and could be used in regenerative medicine, when offering skin and hair transplants, such as for burn victims or those with scarring alopecia,” Dr Elena Winheim, co-first author at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. ⬇️ Read the full story 📰 And check out the work covered on the BBC: https://lnkd.in/eA9MUCCG https://lnkd.in/eWW4Ds_Q

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