Sanger Science – Wellcome Sanger Institute Blog

A dangerous new Salmonella strain is emerging in sub-Saharan Africa

October 3, 2019October 3, 2019 Communications Team congo, democratic republic of the congo, drc, drug resistance, drug resistant, ints, invasive non-typhoidal salmonella, Salmonella, salmonella typhimurium, ST313, sub-Saharan Africa min read

Researchers have discovered the first extensively drug resistant non-typhoidal Salmonella in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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The biology of the brain

September 25, 2019September 25, 2019 Communications Team brain, mice, mouse, neurobiology, neurodevelopmental, psychiatric, rare genetic conditions min read

Studying mouse brain development can give insights into human neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders, as well as help diagnose rare genetic conditions

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Health implications of the baby biome?

September 18, 2019October 15, 2019 Communications Team antibiotics, babies, bacteria, birth, c-section, caesearean section, gut microbiome, micriobiota, microbiome min read

The method of a baby’s birth affects its collection of gut microbes – its microbiome. But we still don’t know if that has any long-term effects on health

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Powering discovery in blood disorders and depression

September 11, 2019September 11, 2019 Communications Team blood, blood cells, data, data sets, depression, dna sequencing, human genetics programme, uk biobank, whole genomes min read

The wealth of information available to researchers through UK Biobank is powering studies into human health and disease

Malaria Cell Atlas research. Image credit: Petra Korlevic

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Malaria Cell Atlas: mapping a murderous parasite’s life cycle

August 22, 2019August 22, 2019 MarkThomson MarkThomson malaria, malaria cell atlas, mca, parasites and microbes, Plasmodium, single cell min read

Malaria – and the parasite that causes it – is complicated. Not only does the single-celled parasite move between humans and mosquitoes, but it exists in different forms, each with different shapes and functions. Researchers have now mapped out its life cycle in more detail than ever before.

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The modern rise of an ancient disease

August 8, 2019August 8, 2019 Communications Team bacteria, drug resistance, macrolides, sexually transmitted disease, std, syphilis, treponema pallidum, yaws min read

Sanger scientists have sequenced the largest number of Treponema pallidum bacterial genomes to date. The bacterium causes syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease that is making a comeback. Their findings show us how the bacteria have evolved over time and developed resistance to antibiotics.

Measles can be life-threatening, and outbreaks are still occuring. Image credit: Credit: David Haygarth, flickr

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Vaccines: Life savers against infectious diseases

August 2, 2019October 31, 2019 Communications Team E. coli, etec, group a streptococcus, hpv, Infectious disease, malaria, measles, Plasmodium, polio, smallpox, vaccines min read

Smallpox has been stamped out and various other diseases are declining, thanks to vaccination. But not all diseases have vaccines yet – can genomics help speed up the search?

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COSMIC: setting the path for tomorrow’s cancer treatments

July 17, 2019 Communications Team BRAF, cancer, cancer genetics, Cancer Genome Project, COSMIC, melanoma min read

From gene discovery, to database, to cancer treatment. COSMIC celebrates 15 years of fuelling cancer research.

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DECIPHER: Fuelling Rare Disease Research

July 3, 2019July 4, 2019 Communications Team DDD, decipher, deciphering developmental disorders, developmental disorders, families, Genetics, Genomics, learning disorders min read

More than 15 years ago, a hospital doctor realised that bringing people’s genetic data together could provide answers for families affected by rare diseases. With the help of the Sanger Institute, the DECIPHER project has been helping families ever since