Babraham Press Releases 2012

The Babraham Institute announces collaboration with Karus Therapeutics
to explore PI3 Kinase Inhibitors in the treatment of Inflammatory Diseases

The Babraham Institute and Karus Therapeutics, a leader in the development of innovative medicines for the treatment of inflammatory disease and cancer, today announced that they have entered into a collaboration to further characterise novel treatments for inflammatory diseases, through the regulation of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinases (PI3K) - a family of enzymes important to immune cell function
17th December 2012

An international collaboration with Babraham researchers reveals how cell membranes reassemble after cell division

An international collaboration between researchers at the Babraham Institute, Cancer Research UK's London Research Institute, Imperial College London and Amherst College in the US, reveals for the first time that a lipid called diacylglyercol (DAG) is instrumental in ensuring that the nuclear membrane reforms correctly after cell division and therefore plays a key role maintaining the delicate balance between cell growth and cell death. While gaining new insight into the basic mechanisms underpinning cell growth and communication within cells, this research also may point towards hitherto unexplored therapeutic avenues to combat the abnormal cell division seen in certain types of cancer and rare genetic disorders.
12th December 2012

Babraham Institute researchers reveal how heart muscle cells get remodelled in response to disease and ageing

Researchers at the Babraham Institute have discovered how signalling processes within the heart, controlled by a minute molecule known as miR133a, can trigger the development of enlarged heart cells, a process called hypertrophy. Hypertrophy often leads to cardiac failure, which accounts for 25% deaths in the UK and is a primary cause of death in the elderly.
11th December 2012

Babraham Institute research provides insight into DNA reprogramming during egg and sperm cell development

Scientists at the Babraham Institute have gained a new understanding of when and how the DNA in developing egg and sperm cells is ‘reset’, in preparation for making a new embryo. It is well known that small chemical groups can be added to DNA to alter gene activity, these modifications to the DNA are acquired during development in the womb and throughout adult life and can arise from changes in environment. Most of these modifications are removed in immature egg and sperm cells to ‘reset’ the DNA and to erase any ‘environmental memory’, but some remain. Decoding this reprogramming has major implications for our understanding of development and how these modifications can be inherited from one generation to another.
6th December 2012

Ageing Research summit at Babraham explores the basic biology underpinning healthier lifespan

Understanding ageing is a new research priority worldwide and two hundred scientists from around the world recently gathered at the Babraham Institute for a summit on Ageing Research, which attracted leading researchers from the USA, Europe, Israel and the UK. The conference aimed to strengthen ageing research in the UK and to promote the seamless interaction between research into normal ageing and the application of this knowledge to age-related disease.
4th October 2012

Where science meets policy: Babraham students organise the 2012 Cambridge Biological and Life Sciences Symposium

Four PhD students from the Babraham Institute organised the University of Cambridge’s annual symposium for Biological and Life Sciences students (SymBLS) at Peterhouse in September, bringing together students and their research with academics, industry and policymakers. The government and industry attendees particularly enjoyed connecting, and in some cases reconnecting, with cutting edge research being done by the graduates at Cambridge University.
28th September 2012

As part of its international conference on Ageing and Basic Bioscience, the Babraham Institute is pleased to announce:
'A Question of Ageing' on Saturday 22nd September 2012

Hot on the heels of a science exhibition at the Royal Society in London this summer, explaining how our genes can be influenced by our environment and lifestyle – a research field known as epigenetics – The Babraham Institute's next public engagement event tackles an issue that affects us all, the science of healthy ageing. Following an international conference on Ageing Research at Babraham next month, there will be an event for the public at the Guildhall on Saturday 22nd September that will enable people to engage with researchers to consider the scientific and clinical challenges as well as the socio-economic issues of an ageing population.
Posted 23rd August 2012

Babraham research reveals how tumours acquire resistance and identify a new target that may keep tumours in check

Scientists at the Babraham Institute, working with collaborators at AstraZeneca, have made a breakthrough in understanding how a particular signalling pathway can promote aberrant cell growth and pinpointed a mutation that enables tumours to circumvent certain treatments. The research, reported on-line in the journal Oncogene, provides new insight into the regulation of a family of proteins called Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptors (FGFRs) which play a key role in controlling cell growth and are frequently implicated in cancer when they become deregulated, for example by mutations. These findings may pave the way for new therapeutic targets and a greater understanding of tumour cells’ versatility to overcome therapies targeting this pathway.
14th August 2012

Babraham-US collaboration reveals how injured nerves initiate self-destruction

Scientists at the Babraham Institute, together with collaborators in the USA, have made a breakthrough in understanding how axons self-destruct in injury, ageing and disease. Axons are the long slender ‘wires’ projecting from nerve cells that communicate messages around the body. By unravelling the factors governing axon longevity, this work — supported in the UK by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Alzheimer’s Research UK — will increase understanding of both the normal ageing process in nerves and degenerative mechanisms widespread in disease. This breakthrough paves the way for research into new therapies to tackle axon loss in ageing-related conditions like Alzheimer’s Disease.
11th June 2012

Babraham Institute research provides new insight into placental growth and healthy pregnancy

Scientists at the Babraham Institute have gained a new understanding of how the growth of the placenta is regulated before birth, which has important implications for a healthy pregnancy. The research, published on 10th June 2012 in the journal Nature Cell Biology shows that the controlled release of a specific molecule, called miR-675, slows down growth of the placenta before birth.
10th June 2012

Minister opens new facilities to boost bioscience business at Babraham

Minister of State for Universities and Science, David Willets, opened new bioscience facilities for business start-ups at the Babraham Research Campus today. The new building is part of on-going development at Babraham following investment to deliver innovation from the research base, generate economic growth and to create and support new companies and jobs based on world-leading bioscience.
24th May 2012

Scientists at the University of Cambridge and the Babraham Institute have demonstrated a new technique
that will transform epigenetics research

Collaboration between scientists at Cambridge University and the Babraham Institute has demonstrated a new technique that will significantly improve scientists' ability to perform epigenetics research and help unlock the door to understanding how cells develop and function. The research, published in the journal Science has important implications for stem cell research and the development of regenerative medicines.
26th April 2012

Babraham joins forces with The University of Cambridge's ideaSpace to accelerate enterprise

A new partnership between two key players in the Cambridge innovation ecosystem has been launched to offer a more connected support mechanism for early-stage companies. The Babraham Research Campus and The University of Cambridge's ideaSpace have entered into a strategic relationship through which early-stage ventures will have dual access to the 'plug and play' laboratory facilities at Babraham and the co-working community at the ideaSpace in the Hauser Forum.
11th January 2012