Sanger Science
27 January 202622 min readImagine being able to pinpoint exactly where in an aggressive brain tumour certain genes are turned on – like mapping a city’s most active neighbourhoods at rush hour. That is the promise of spatial transcriptomics, breakthrough technologies that are changing how scientists understand tissues, health and disease, and development.
15 January 202611.3 min readWhen most people think about genetic changes, or mutations, they imagine inherited conditions that are passed on from parents to offspring. However, the vast majority of mutations in our DNA are not inherited at all. Instead, they arise quietly, cell-by-cell throughout our lifetime. These are somatic mutations, and they are one of the most important – yet least understood – forces acting inside our bodies.
23 December 20259.5 min readFor many, flu season has come earlier this year with hospitalisations rising by more than 50 per cent in one week in the UK. The so-called ‘super flu’ is causing a media frenzy – but what actually is it? Why are we seeing it earlier than usual? And how can we be better prepared in the future?
11 December 202511.2 min readDrawn to genomics like a moth to a flame, Wellcome Sanger Institute Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr Charlotte Wright, shares with us how she uses genomics to shed light on the evolutionary history of butterflies and moths, and how they might change in the future.
9 December 202516.3 min readThe use of embryonic and foetal material in research is an emotive topic. We break this topic down by taking a closer look at the promise of this work, the regulatory requirements necessary to conduct it, and how the Wellcome Sanger Institute is upholding these standards.
2 December 202512.7 min readThe CARRIAGE study reveals critical insights into the role of Staphylococcus aureus in antimicrobial resistance (AMR). We caught up with Dr Ewan Harrison to discuss how the CARRIAGE study impacts our understanding of how to tackle AMR.
28 November 202512.8 min readImagine if our bodies held secret playbooks for stopping cancer before it ever gains ground. A new international research team – led by scientists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute – is setting out to uncover exactly those natural defence mechanisms. Their ambitious Cancer Avoidance project hopes to reveal insights that could one day help us halt cancer in its tracks.
