The first detailed map of individual malaria parasite behaviour across each stage of its complicated life cycle has been created by scientists. Researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and their collaborators used advanced single-cell technology to isolate individual parasites and measure their gene activity. The result is the Malaria Cell Atlas

In the first continent-wide genomic study of malaria parasites in Africa, scientists have uncovered the genetic features of Plasmodium falciparum that inhabit different regions of the continent, including the genetic factors that confer resistance to anti-malarial drugs. This sheds new light on the way that drug resistance is emerging in different locations and moving by various routes across Africa, putting previous success in controlling malaria at risk.

Scientists have discovered that the gut-infecting bacterium Clostridium difficile is evolving into two separate species, with one group highly adapted to spread in hospitals. Researchers identified genetic changes in the newly-emerging species that allow it to thrive on the Western sugar-rich diet, evade common hospital disinfectants and spread easily. They estimated this emerging species started to appear thousands of years ago, and accounts for over two thirds of healthcare C. difficile infections.

New research has found that antibiotic-resistant strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae, an opportunistic pathogen that can cause respiratory and bloodstream infections in humans, are spreading through hospitals in Europe. Certain strains of K. pneumoniae are resistant to the carbapenem antibiotics that represent the last line of defence in treating infections and are therefore regarded as extremely drug resistant (XDR).

The Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer project (www.cancerrxgene.org) has released the results of four years of intense research to power genetic research into cancer treatment worldwide. The new data set builds on the previous six years’ study, and practically doubles the volume of novel data available on the website – making it the largest public dataset of its kind in the world.

A medical student who undertook a clinical PhD at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge has gained a top prize in the prestigious Dr Falk-Pharma/Guts UK charity national awards. Mr Henry Lee-Six won the  award for his project entitled ‘Mutational Landscape of Normal Colon’ which examined potential causes of the evolution of colon cells from normal to cancerous.

Genomic surveillance has revealed that malaria resistance to two first-line antimalarial drugs has spread rapidly from Cambodia to neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia. Researchers discovered that descendants of one multi-drug resistant malaria strain are replacing the local parasites in Vietnam, Laos and northeastern Thailand, and are picking up additional new genetic changes which could further enhance resistance.

The 2019 report, Health, our global asset – partnering for progress features a postcard from Professor Nick Thomson, highlighting the importance of international collaboration in tracing cholera around the globe

Low doses of radiation equivalent to three CT scans, which are considered safe, give cancer-capable cells a competitive advantage over normal cells. Researchers studied the effects of low doses of radiation in mice and found it increases the number of cells with mutations in p53, a well-known genetic change associated with cancer. However, giving the mice an antioxidant before radiation promoted the growth of healthy cells, which outcompeted and replaced the p53 mutant cells.

Wellcome Sanger Institute researchers will receive funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) for five collaborative projects supporting the Human Cell Atlas (HCA), the global initiative to map every cell type in the human body. These projects will investigate specific tissues in the thymus, lung, liver, kidney and immune system to understand health and what goes wrong in disease.