News

New Research on Brain Structure Highlights Cells Linked to Alzheimer's and Autism

11 March 2020

New insights into the architecture of the brain have been revealed by scientists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and their collaborators. The researchers discovered that cells in the cerebral cortex of mice, called astrocytes, are more diverse than previously thought, with distinct layers of astrocytes across the cerebral cortex that provide the strongest evidence to date of their specialization across the brain.

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

16 January 2020

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

11 December 2019

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

23 October 2019

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.

First cell map of developing human liver reveals how blood and immune system develop

9 October 2019

In a world first, scientists have created the human developmental liver cell atlas that provides crucial insights into how the blood and immune systems develop in the foetus. It maps changes in the cellular landscape of the developing liver between the first and second trimesters of pregnancy, including how stem cells from the liver seed other tissues to support the high demand for oxygen needed for growth.

Diabetes drug reverses cell ageing and could stop multiple sclerosis

8 October 2019

New research published in Cell Stem Cell suggests a common diabetes drug could hold the key to stopping disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS). The new finding offers hope to people living with advanced forms of the condition, who currently have no treatment and often see disability as inevitable.

Stem cell studies offer hope for childhood neurological condition

3 October 2019

Two new studies by an international team of researchers report progress in using stem cells to develop new therapies for Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease (PMD), a rare genetic condition affecting boys that can be fatal before 10 years of age.

Cancer cells ‘corrupt’ their healthy neighbours

28 August 2019

The healthy cells immediately surrounding a tumour become more stem cell-like and support cancer growth, reveals a new study published in Nature. The discovery was made during a research collaboration between Dr Joo-Hyeon Lee at the Wellcome – MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and Dr Ilaria Malanchi at the Francis Crick Institute.

Discovering the numerous paths of stem cell decision making

15 August 2019

How cells change their identity to become a different cell type and the route they follow to reach their final form is a fundamental unanswered question at the heart of developmental biology.

Cambridge scientists reverse ageing process in rat brain stem cells

14 August 2019

New research, published today in Nature, reveals how increasing brain stiffness as we age causes brain stem cell dysfunction, and demonstrates new ways to reverse older stem cells to a younger, healthier state.