The Sanger Institute will serve as the genomics hub in the UK and will collaborate with the Natural History Museum in London, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Earlham Institute, Edinburgh Genomics, University of Edinburgh, EMBL-EBI and others in sample collection, DNA sequencing, assembling and annotating genomes and storing the data

The report, conducted by Thomas Kibling, at the respected law firm Matrix Chambers, has now been published (Tuesday 30 October).

Researchers studied the gene activity from more than a quarter of a million single cells to show how the innate immune response varies between cells and species. The study in Nature looked in unprecedented detail at the genes activated in response to a pathogen invasion, to chart the evolution of antiviral and antibacterial immunity across six mammalian species.

The first comprehensive summary of all genes known to be involved in cancer describes how they function in terms of ten Hallmarks of Cancer. Reported in Nature Reviews Cancer, the Cancer Gene Census catalogues over 700 genes, to help scientists understand the causes of cancers, find drug targets and design treatments.

Open Targets announced today (29 October) that Sanofi has joined its pioneering public-private collaboration to transform drug discovery by improving the success rate for developing new medicines. Sanofi’s expertise in immunology, oncology, neurosciences and diabetes will complement the offerings of the current partners GSK, Biogen, Takeda, Celgene, the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI).

By the time we reach middle age, more than half of the oesophagus in healthy people has been taken over by cells carrying mutations in cancer genes, scientists have uncovered. By studying normal oesophagus tissue, scientists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, MRC Cancer Unit, University of Cambridge and their collaborators uncovered a hidden world of mutations and evolution in our tissues as we age .

Working closely with consultant NHS clinicians in all 24 Regional Genetic Centres across the UK and Ireland, the Deciphering Developmental Disorders researchers have sequenced the DNA of the 33,500 parents and children involved in the study. To date, the project has found diagnoses for over 4,500 children.

Scientists have developed a successful method to make truly personalised predictions of future disease outcomes for patients with certain types of chronic blood cancers. Wellcome Sanger Institute researchers and collaborators combined extensive genetic and clinical information to predict the prognosis for patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the research identified eight different genetic subgroups of the disease and could lead to personalised medicine for patients with these blood cancers.

The genomes of 25 UK species have been read for the first time by scientists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and their collaborators. The 25 completed genome sequences, announced today (4 October) on the Sanger Institute’s 25th anniversary, will lead to future studies to understand the biodiversity of the UK and aid the conservation and understanding of our species.

Cell Model Passports, a user-friendly website described in Nucleic Acids Research will enable cancer researchers in both academia and industry not only to access high-quality raw and processed genomic and functional datasets, but also to select the best model(s) for their research. Before now, finding the most relevant cancer model(s) has often been difficult and time consuming – the Passports will streamline this process.