News

This is Mental Health Awareness week (https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk for more details)To mark this event in Genetics we have a donation box in the Tea Room with some Mental Health Foundation green ribbon badges which you can wear to raise awareness and show your support for good mental health for all.A Team Logo Quiz between 10-11 am on Wednesday,…

The ERC has awarded one of its prestigious Advanced Investigator grants to Alfonso Martinez Arias (/research-groups/martinez-arias).The project, “the mammalian body plan blueprint, an in vitro approach’ aims to gain insights into the molecular and cellular basis underlying the emergence of the mammalian body plan using the gastruloid system, a nove…

On Saturday 16 March, The Department of Genetics took part in the Cambridge Science Festival.  The event consisted of five main activities:1. The "Fruit Fly Fun" area gave participants the opportunity to observe flies under the microscope and learn about the different varieties2." Strawberry Station" allowed visitors to extract DNA from a strawberr…

Nearly seventy years after myxomatosis decimated the rabbit populations of Australia, Britain and France, a new study reveals how the species has evolved genetic resistance to the disease through natural selection.Images and a copy of the paper can be downloaded from DropBox: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/j7602mx2zd4nebu/AAAJBO9dzVM-kKOOCVSwPLcXa?dl=0…

We are delighted to announce that Anne Ferguson-Smith, Head of Department, was awarded the 2019 Feldberg Prize.The purpose of the Feldberg Foundation is the promotion of scientific contact between German and English scientists within the sphere of experimental medical research, in particular in physiology, pharmacology and related topics, primarily…

Differences in traits between individuals are predominantly genetically conferred. However, evidence from human population studies and experiments in animal models suggests that environmentally induced phenotypic changes might be transmitted across generations via non-genetic mechanisms. This has important implications for health and disease and ha…

Research published in Nature online this week [1] describes the remarkable organisation of ‘gastruloids’, small aggregates of mouse Pluripotent Stem Cells that, when grown in the lab, develop a spatial and temporal organization of gene expression that mirrors much of what happens in early embryos [2]. The work is the result of a collaboration betwe…

 Group Leader Felipe Karam Teixeira is one of 11 scientists to attain a Career Development Award from the Human Frontier Science Program Organisation (HFSPO). This  international  programme  of  research  support  is based in Strasbourg, France. Its goal is to fund frontier research focused on complex biological systems and to promote intercontinen…

In June 2018, Sudhakaran Prabakaran travelled to Africa to conduct a teaching workshop on machine learning algorithms at the University of Sierra Leone in Freetown.Because of limited resources in the computational lab where this was arranged, participants were able to access course materials prepared by Prabakaran Lab members and deposited in the c…

Members of the Department of Genetics, Aylwyn Scally, Sudhakaran Prabakaran and Ruchi Chauhan participated in Cambridge Pint of Science, 16-18 May 2017. Pint of Science events now take place annually in 26 cities across the UK, and in 10 other countries worldwide.  Scientists talk about their work in the convivial surroundings of a local pub, and i…

Each year millions of people worldwide are infected with the influenza virus. New research conducted by Chris Illingworth in the Department of Genetics has shed light on an important process by which the virus evolves.The genetic material of an influenza virus is contained on eight genetic segments. During an infection, if two different viruses inf…

The Department of Genetics will be hosting a display of posters as part of the first University Of Cambridge Graduate Open Day on Wednesday 2 November 2016 from 1.30 pm onwards.Throughout the day and across the University, there will be a variety of subject presentations, sample lectures, facility tours, and opportunities to meet staff and current …

In an article appearing in the Observer on 25 Sept 2016, 'In praise of the humble fruit fly', Andrew Anthony explains why Drosophila is so important in medical research, and how the Department of Genetics has played - and continues to play - a key role in that research.Fly Facility Manager Simon Collier took the reporter on a tour of the Department…

The Department of Genetics will be hosting a display of posters as part of the first University Of Cambridge Graduate Open Day on Wednesday 2 November 2016 from 1.30 pm until approx 2.30 pmVisitors will also be able to chat to Group Leaders and current Graduate students a about study options and life in the Department.Please see our Postgraduate to…

The 11th Physics of Living Matter Symposium will be held on 22 - 23 September at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. The series was launched in 2006 to promote the interface between the Life and Physical Sciences in Cambridge. Since then interest has grown considerably and the Symposia are now jointly organised by Cambrid…