Cancer treatment: study finds targeting nearby ‘normal’ cells could improve survival rates

Cancer of the immune system, called lymphoma or leukaemia, generally affects the entire body’s bone marrow and lymph nodes. Because these types of cancers are so widespread, surgery isn’t useful, so patients are usually treated with chemotherapy. Although these treatments have become significantly better in the past ten years, lymphoma and chronic leukaemia often come back months or years after treatment.

Single-cell analysis of the earliest cell fate decisions in development

Researchers at the Babraham Institute, EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), CRUK Cambridge Institute and the Wellcome – MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute have provided the first single-cell epigenomic analysis of gastrulation, a crucial process in early embryo development. The researchers analysed over 1,000 cells from mouse embryos to understand the epigenetic priming events preceding gastrulation and the cell fate decisions these establish. The findings, published on Wednesday 11th December in Nature, uncover fundamental knowledge about the processes that programme cell fate in the early embryo to generate all the organs and tissues of the body.

Affiliate group leader Florian Merkle named Robertson Stem Cell Investigator

The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) announced the 2019 class of NYSCF – Robertson Investigators, welcoming six of the most talented stem cell researchers and neuroscientists into the NYSCF Investigator Program.