Takeda is a global, research and development-driven pharmaceutical company with expertise in oncology, gastroenterology (GI) and central nervous system (CNS) disease that will complement the offerings of GSK, Biogen, the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), and build on the initiative’s success.

The largest-ever genetic study of mosquitoes reveals the movement of insecticide resistance between different regions of Africa and finds several rapidly evolving insecticide resistance genes. Malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes and rising resistance to insecticides is hampering efforts to control the disease. Reported in Nature, this genetic resource will help to develop new tools for monitoring resistance and managing insecticide use, and for designing novel control methods.

A study has found an unexpected new drug target for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) that could open new avenues to develop effective treatments against this potentially lethal disease. Researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, the Gurdon Institute and their collaborators show that inhibiting the METTL3 gene destroys human and mouse AML cells without harming non-leukaemic blood cells.

In two new studies focussing on Africa and Latin America, scientists analysed historical cholera samples to trace their transmission across the globe. They found that cholera repeatedly traveled out of south Asia to cause epidemics in Africa and Latin America.

To commemorate the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute turning 25 in 2018, the Institute and collaborators are sequencing 25 new genomes. From the blackberry to the robin, bush cricket to brown trout, all the species reside in the UK. Twenty species have already been decided, and the remaining five will be voted for by the public and school children.

Professor Peacock uses whole genome sequencing technology in public health, helping to increase the speed of outbreak analysis. She has been working with local hospitals and regional microbiology services to implement sequence-based approaches to clinical microbiology. Her latest study showed that routine genomic surveillance of MRSA can detect unsuspected outbreaks.

Genomic surveillance has revealed the first complete picture of MRSA spread across the east of England. By tracking all MRSA-positive people in the area, researchers saw the transmission within and between hospitals, and in GPs surgeries and communities. The study showed that routine genomic surveillance could catch outbreaks earlier, which could help prevent further transmission.

In the largest study of its kind, five new malaria vaccine targets have been discovered by scientists at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and their collaborators. Researchers studied the malaria parasite at its most vulnerable stage – when invading human red blood cells – and identified five targets that lead to a reduction in the parasite’s ability to enter red blood cells.

The AGR whole-genome sequencing effort encompassed populations from across Africa, including from Ethiopia (Gumuz, Wolayta, Amhara, Oromo, Somali), Egypt, Namibia (Nama/Khoesan) and South Africa (Zulu). The genomes of 2,000 individuals from Uganda (Baganda, Banyarwanda, Barundi and others) were also included. The AGR resource now contains 94.5M SNPs of which 21.7M are unique to AGR.

For the first time, scientists have provided unbiased estimates of the number of mutations needed for cancers to develop, in a study of more than 7,500 tumours across 29 cancer types. Researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and their collaborators adapted a technique from the field of evolution to confirm that, on average, 1 to 10 driver mutations are needed for cancer to emerge. The results are published today (19th October) in Cell.