News

Scientists reveal the beautiful simplicity underlying branching patterns

14 September 2017

In the centenary year of the publication of a seminal treatise on the physical and mathematical principles underpinning nature – On Growth and Form by D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson – a Cambridge physicist has led a study describing an elegantly simple solution to a puzzle that has taxed biologists for centuries: how complex...

3D organoids and RNA sequencing reveal the crosstalk driving lung cell formation

11 September 2017

Scientists at the Wellcome - MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute along with colleagues at the Children’s Hospital Boston have used 3D stem cell organoids to understand the process of lung cell formation, revealing new possibilities for the treatment of asthma and emphysema. To stay healthy, our lungs must maintain two key...

Stem cells and genetics: the ‘perfect storm’ for cancer progression

21 August 2017

Cambridge scientists have uncovered genetic changes that result in a pre-cancerous stem cell population that can give rise to lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system commonly diagnosed in people under 30. The research published in the journal Nature Cell Biology shows how the genetic changes and resulting stem cell...

An interview with Jenny Nichols

17 August 2017

Dr Jenny Nichols from the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute has been featured in the August edition of Development, talking about her research and her career to date. In the interview with Aidan Maartens, Jenny explains how she formed her research questions, started working with former Director of the Institute Austin Smith...

Public Engagement with Research Award winner

17 July 2017

Cambridge Stem Cell Institute group leader Dr Elisa Laurenti has won one of six University of Cambridge Public Engagement with Research Awards . She received a £1,000 prize presented by the Vice-Chancellor in an award ceremony on 13 July in the Old Schools. Elisa has been a leading force in public engagement at the...

3D cell scaffolding supports future transplant therapies

3 July 2017

Scientists at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and the Sanger Institute have developed a new method for growing and transplanting artificial bile ducts that could in future be used to help treat liver disease in children, reducing the need for liver transplantation. In research published in the journal Nature Medicine ...

Cambridge scientists could improve the “balancing act” in cancer therapy

3 July 2017

Scientists at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute have revealed new insights into cellular signaling processes that could improve chemotherapy treatments. In research published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, the study found that small signaling packages (known as extracellular vesicles) have the specific enzyme...

Janet Rossant awarded honorary degree

23 June 2017

At a ceremony held this week in Senate House, the Chancellor of the University of Cambridge awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science to Professor Janet Rossant in recognition of her achievements in academia, philanthropy and public service. Professor Janet Rossant is an alumna and Honorary Fellow of Darwin College...

Patching up a broken heart

20 June 2017

Scientists at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute (CSCI) are developing heart patches from stem cells in the hopes of repairing tissue damage following heart attack. Using embryonic and adult stem cells, the research team led by Dr Sanjay Sinha , produced the correct mix of heart cells needed to make functional cardiac...

Fish research may hold the key to understanding childhood disease.

16 May 2017

Cambridge stem cell scientists have developed a new zebrafish model to study the origins of Fanconi anemia, a paediatric disease that causes fatal bone marrow failure and predisposes children to cancer. Using this model, the researchers showed the symptoms of this disease to be linked to genetic changes that disrupt blood...