The Sanger Institute in the Media - 2010

Since the Sanger Institute's inception, we have been involved in groundbreaking discoveries and projects. You will find an archive of selected news coverage the Sanger Institute has received over the last year.

[Wellcome Library, London]

20.12.10 Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is not caused by XMRV

A virus previously thought to be associated with chronic fatigue syndrome is not the cause of the disease, a detailed study shows. The research shows that cell samples used in previous research were contaminated with the virus identified as XMRV. The study identifies the source of XMRV in chronic fatigue syndrome samples as being cells or mouse DNA rather than infection by XMRV. The research does not rule out a virus cause of chronic fatigue syndrome. [press release]

19.12.10 The genetic basis of brain diseases

Scientists isolate a set of proteins that accounts for over 130 brain diseases. The team shows that the protein machinery has changed relatively little during evolution, suggesting that the behaviours governed by and the diseases associated with these proteins have not changed significantly over many millions of years. The findings open several new paths toward tackling these diseases. [press release]

26.11.10 Genetic markers for blood clot found

Researchers uncover genetic markers found in people at risk of developing potentially fatal blood clots that can lead to heart attack. The team looked at 11,500 DNA samples taken from people who had suffered heart attack and from apparently healthy individuals to identify genes that seem to control the way our blood clots. The research could inform ways of detecting and treating coronary heart disease. [press release]

07.11.10 Sanger researcher awarded Cancer Research UK prize

Dr Peter Campbell, group leader in the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute's Cancer Genome Project, is awarded the first ever Cancer Research UK Future Leaders Prize. The accolade recognises scientists who show the potential to be world class researchers in their field. Dr Campbell's research uses the latest DNA sequencing technologies to look at mutations that emerge over the course of a cancer's development. [press release]

27.10.10 1000 Genomes Project publishes analysis of completed pilot phase

The 1000 Genomes Project publishes the most comprehensive map of genetic differences, called variations, estimated to contain approximately 95 per cent of the genetic variation of any person on Earth. The map systematically characterises variation in 180 people in three pilot studies. In the full scale-up of the project, researchers have already collected data from more than 1,000 people. [press release]

27.10.10 Forces for cancer spread: genomic instability and evolutionary selection

Researchers show the forces of evolution in pancreatic tumours mean that not only is cancer genetically different between different patients, but each new focus of cancer spread within a patient has acquired distinct mutations. The complexity of pancreatic cancer genetics uncovered in this work helps to explain the difficulty of treating the disease but also strengthens the need for improved methods for early diagnosis [press release]

15.10.10 Immigration and British science

Reports explore the impact of the Government's immigration cap on the research taking place in Britain and at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.

14.10.10 PiggyBac joins armoury in fight against cancer

Researchers have developed a genetic tool in mice to speed the discovery of novel genes involved in cancer. The system - called PiggyBac - has already been used by the team to identify novel candidate cancer-causing genes. This new development of the PiggyBac system makes it a powerful addition to the armoury of genetic methods available to researchers for picking apart the genetic causes of cancer. [press release]

07.10.10 Sanger Institute Director Mike Stratton makes Times Eureka 100 list

Mike Stratton is recognised for his work to identify the role of the BRAF gene in malignant melanoma. With treatments based on the discovery now in clinical trials, a new step is made towards personalised cancer treatment based on the genetic profiles of individual tumours.

15.09.10 Cancer's penicillin moment?

As clinical trials show promising results for new treatments that target the BRAF gene in malignant melanoma, Professor Mike Stratton, who identified the gene's involvement in melanomas in 2002, and others reflect on the new era of cancer research and treatment.

16.09.10 Completed genome is first step to tackling Tasmanian devil facial tumours

Researchers announce the completion a draft genome sequence for the endangered Tasmanian devil, clearing the path for ongoing work to trace the spread of disease and inform the development of preclinical tests, conservation strategies and disease therapies. [press release]

29.08.10 First genetic link to common migraine exposed

Researchers expose the first ever genetic risk factor associated with common types of migraine, suggesting that an accumulation of glutamate in nerve cell junctions in the brain may play a key role. [press release]

25.08.10 Drug trials based on BRAF discovery show reduction in malignant melanoma tumours

Early clinical trials of a new drug to treat malignant melanoma show remarkable results in patients with advanced forms of the disease. The new drug treatments are based on the discovery of the role of the BRAF gene in the development of malignant melanoma at the Sanger Institute in 2002.

12.07.10 Kymab and Wellcome Trust sign £20 million financing agreement

Kymab and The Wellcome Trust investment division announce a £20 million financing agreement for a new biopharmaceutical company. Kymab, a spin-out from the Sanger Institute, will be led by the Institute's former Director, Allan Bradley, and will focus on the discovery, development and commercialisation of novel monoclonal antibody medicines. [press release]

24.06.10 Celebrating a 'decade of discovery' since the Human Genome Project

Leading scientists from the public efforts to map the human genome celebrate a decade of discovery since the announcement of the first draft ten years ago and reflect on changes in the landscape of genetic research. [press release]

24.06.10 Wellcome Trust launches study of 10,000 human genomes in UK

To coincide with the completion of the first draft of the human genome, a new project is launched to decode the genomes of 10,000 people over three years. One of the largest genome sequencing programmes ever undertaken, the UK10K project will analyse the genomes of the equivalent of one in 6000 people in the UK. [press release]

21.06.10 1000 Genomes Project releases data from pilot projects

The 1000 Genomes Project announces the completion of three pilot projects and the deposition of the final resulting data in freely available public databases for use by the research community. The announcement also marks the launch of a full-scale effort to build a public database containing information from the genomes of 2,500 people. [press release]

30.05.10 Computing to tackle new genome challenges

Almost ten years on from the decoding of the human genome, the Observer reports on how modern computing at the Sanger Institute can exploit the potential of that discovery in the fight against disease.

14.05.10 1000 Genomes Project expands

14.04.10 Cataloguing cancer codes

The International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) sets out its bold plan to decode the genomes from 25,000 cancer samples and create a resource of freely available data that will help cancer researchers around the world. [press release]

13.04.10 Sequence is scaffold to study sleeping sickness

Researchers publish the first a high-quality draft genome sequence for T. b. gambiense - the strain of Trypanosoma brucei that is responsible for almost all reported cases of human African trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness. The results lay the foundation for further research to understand how the parasite infects humans. [press release]

31.03.10 Using data in the fight against malaria

WIRED reports how a new database, designed and built at the Sanger Institute, will help researchers and clinicians around the world to use sequence data to understand samples from malaria patients and compare these to others around the world in an effort to understand the disease at the local level.

31.03.10 CNVs and common disease

  • GenomeWeb Daily News - WTCCC data suggests common CNVs not key common disease culprits 31 March 2010

    A study of the genetics of common diseases including diabetes, heart disease and bipolar disorder finds that commonly occurring copy number variations - duplicated or missing chunks of DNA in our genome - are unlikely to play a major role in such diseases. [press release]

    31.03.10 From alpaca to zebra finch

    The publication of the genetic blueprint for the zebra finch marks 10 years of success for the Ensembl project in helping researchers to navigate the genomes of a Noah's Ark of species. Ensembl, which was originally created as a means of cataloguing the genes in the human genome, now contains the complete genetic codes of more than 50 animals. [press release]

23.03.10 Professor Leena Peltonen-Palotie: 1952-2010

Professor Leena Peltonen-Palotie, Head of Human Genetics at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute passed away on 11 March 2010 at her home in Finland after a long and characteristically courageous battle with cancer. She was 57. Leena was a leading human geneticist of her era, holding at her death appointments at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland and the Broad Institute, Cambridge, USA. [press release]

17.02.10 Sorting the drivers from the passengers in the cancer genome

A new study of mutations in cancer genomes shows how researchers can begin to distinguish the 'driver' mutations that push cells towards cancer from the 'passenger' mutations that are a by-product of cancer cell development. The study also shows that at least one in nine genes can be removed without killing human cells. [press release]

21.01.10 Tracking MRSA evolution and transmission

Research led by the Sanger Institute exposes transmission of MRSA. The team develop a new method that can 'zoom' from large-scale inter-continental transmission events to the much finer detail of person-to-person infection of MRSA within a single hospital. The research also reveals new insights into the evolution of MRSA. [press release]

26.01.10 Gentlemen or farmers?

A study, including the Sanger Institute, finds that most men in Europe descend from the first farmers who migrated from the Near East 10,000 years ago. The team found that 80 per cent of European Y chromosomes descend from incoming farmers, suggesting a reproductive advantage for farming males over indigenous hunter-gatherers during the switch from hunting and gathering to farming. [press release]

17.01.10 From biological basics to diabetes discovery

In two major studies, researchers use biological understanding to dissect the genetics of diabetes. An international team, including the Sanger Institute, analysed vast suites of genetic data from more than 100,000 people of European descent to uncover novel genetic markers for diabetes related traits. [press release]

06.01.10 Unravelling kidney cancer

Scientists, led by the Sanger Institute, have searched for mutations in the gene regions of more than 100 kidney cancer samples, the largest number of samples from a single tumour type to be sequenced to date. The team looked for mutations in 3544 genes in 101 cases of clear cell Renal Cell Carcinoma to begin to investigate the complexity within this reasonably homogeneous cancer type. [press release]

The Sanger Institute in the Media

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